In the narrow corridor, Shiki and Souren Araya fought to the death.
Shiki's enhancement came from the Root. Having returned from the Root, she knew more than before, so it was only natural that she had grown stronger.
Simply cutting off one arm was naturally far from enough for Shiki. Her goal was to slaughter the man in front of her.
Since it was his right hand that had been cut off rather than the left hand containing the Buddha's relic, Souren Araya could still use the concept of invulnerability in his left hand to contend with Shiki.
More accurately, he was suppressing Shiki. Even if his current body was as battered as garbage in a dump, when it came to practical combat experience, he was absolutely among the best in the world.
He had not lived for two hundred years for nothing!
However, it was utterly useless.
No matter how he fought—whether he used repulsive force to shove Shiki into a wall or sent her flying several meters—she would get back up as though nothing had happened and keep charging at him.
"Damn it, even this can't stop you?"
But for Souren Araya, being unable to win was not the worst thing. He had lived for over two hundred years and encountered nearly every kind of opponent imaginable.
Besides, this was not the first time he had been unable to defeat someone.
The problem was, even if he could beat her, what could he do? Shiki was like a cockroach now, completely disregarding her own losses and determined to cut him down.
Even worse, Shiki possessed the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. If someone else killed him, he could still fake his death and return with puppet techniques, but if Shiki killed him, he would be truly dead—the ashes-in-an-urn kind of dead.
Relying on his superb martial arts skills, Souren Araya evaded Shiki's attack. This time, instead of counterattacking, he jumped from the building to save his own life.
"Even so, I won't let you get away!" When her opponent suddenly vanished, Shiki looked around before decisively turning toward the window.
Outside, Souren Araya manipulated the boundary field, intending to demolish the condemned building and bury Shiki inside it.
But Shirou had reinforced the building so thoroughly that it was as solid as if it had been glued together with industrial-strength adhesive. Souren Araya tried, only to find that he could not tear it down at all!
Everyone knew that Souren Araya was incredibly skilled with boundary fields, but he could not fly. He could only choose free fall, and his starting point was the twentieth floor.
Many people did not understand just how terrible it was to jump from the twentieth floor. After all, jumping from the seventh or eighth floor was basically certain death, and jumping from the twentieth floor was also certain death. Since death was death either way, one might as well choose a lower floor—it was easier to climb up there.
Though Souren Araya had a boundary field to save his life, just imagine what would happen if he hit the ground full force. Other than that left arm of his, which could block a blade at close range and withstand rifle fire at a distance, every other part of him would turn into dumpling filling—the kind that did not even need chopping. Tell me, wasn't that terrifying?
Well, someone really was not afraid.
Without even thinking, Shiki darted out, gripping Kanesada as she stabbed it into Souren Araya's abdomen, clearly intending to trade lives with him.
"Hey, Mikiya, you know Shiki best. Does she have some hobby like bungee jumping?" Watching Shiki free-fall from such a height in the distance, Shirou's mouth twitched.
At the beginning, you jumped down from the third floor. Now that the ending was near, you were jumping from the twentieth. Was this supposed to make the beginning and ending echo each other or something?
So that dead personality of yours should not have been called Ryougi Ori. It should have been called Ryougi Parker!
"Probably... not...?" Mikiya answered uncertainly. Deep down, he was wondering the same thing. She really doesn't, right?
"No!" Mikiya suddenly realized something extremely serious. His girlfriend was bungee jumping from the twentieth floor. If she hit the ground, she would definitely turn into dumpling filling—no chopping required!
"Quick, save her, Emiya! That's the twentieth floor!" Mikiya said frantically to Shirou, perfectly demonstrating the principle of calling Emiya whenever trouble arose.
"Relax, Mikiya!" Shirou calmly told him. "Shiki will be fine."
Sister Shiki was the protagonist. If she could die from a fall like this, Shirou might as well try smashing his head into a block of frozen tofu.
"Why?"
"Try it yourself. Secure all four corners of a bedsheet, then lie on it and jump from the twentieth floor. If you still manage to die, I'll give you a grand funeral," Shirou said.
"I think I'll pass!" Mikiya gave a dry laugh. He more or less understood what Shirou meant. In other words, Souren Araya had a slowing buff and could act as a cushion, ensuring that no one would die from the fall.
What happened next was just like a scene from a movie. Shiki was knocked unconscious, with only a sword hilt still clutched in her hand.
A section of sword was embedded in Souren Araya's stomach as he waited for death.
"Looks like your boundary field saved Shiki's life. You failed again this time. Why force yourself into this situation? Even now, why are you still so obsessed with something like the Root?" Touko Aozaki walked over, raised a cigarette to her lips, and asked.
"Not being able to save everyone... that was a long time ago..." In a world like this, many villains often began with good intentions. Things like becoming an ally of justice or bringing peace to the world.
Shirou stood there behind Touko Aozaki, quietly listening to Souren Araya speak.
Honestly, he had no right to judge Souren Araya. If he had gone through something similar, he could have done the same thing.
"Araya, what are you seeking?"
"True wisdom."
"Araya, where do you seek it?"
"Only within my own heart."
"Araya, what is your goal?"
"What a pointless question. Of course, it is the end of this contradictory world... the end of the spiral."
Clink! The sound of metal hitting the ground signaled that Souren Araya's life had come to an end.
Shirou had once read something in a book: "The character for 'tell' is used when one person informs another of something; that is called 'telling.' It is used when one person expresses affection to another; that is called a 'confession.' It is used when one person expresses parting to another; that is called a 'farewell.'"
Perhaps what Touko Aozaki was doing now belonged to the last of those. Shirou was curious, but he did not ask. There was no need, and he did not want to.
Besides, compared to that, he had a more important question to ask. "Hey, Touko Aozaki, what did you mean by what you just said?"
Back when Shirou had watched the anime in his previous life, this question had already arisen in his mind. Now that he had met the real person, he had to ask, or it would keep bothering him.
"You want to know?" Touko Aozaki asked in return.
"Obviously! Why would I ask if I didn't?" Shirou rolled his eyes at Touko Aozaki and said impatiently.
"Is that so? Then figure it out yourself!"
"I..."
Shirou wanted to say more, but the corner of a trench coat that suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye immediately made him abandon the thought.
"Touko Aozaki, stay here with Mikiya. I'm going to deal with something." With that, Shirou vanished directly with Sonido.