Hollows were a race of slaughter, growing by devouring one another. From lesser Hollows to Gillians, then from Gillians to Adjuchas, and finally from Adjuchas to Vasto Lordes. No one knew how many souls had been sacrificed along the way—only that there had been a great many.
Although these homunculi were far stronger than ordinary people, they were still far inferior to Shirou, who possessed overwhelming power.
Shirou calmly sent a homunculus flying with a single punch, knocking down another in the process. In terms of combat experience, Shirou was still a blank slate. Though he had inherited Ulquiorra's power, he had not gained the corresponding combat experience.
Put simply, he was only throwing punches based on instinct and intuition. Shirou was still just an empty shell with power, unable to bring out all of it.
But that was already enough for the current situation. Every punch Shirou threw reduced the enemy's numbers, while the combat homunculi's massive axes could only scatter a few sparks against his body, unable to breach the defense of his Steel Skin.
"Mm, those movements and that strength... they already rival some top-tier Servants. And that defensive power too. Damn it, who exactly is this brat?"
"Who am I? It doesn't matter. Who knows?" Shirou replied indifferently as he steadily approached Ahad. For every step Shirou took forward, Ahad took one back. The longer one lived, the greater one's fear of death became.
Old Bug had lived for so long that he feared death, which was why he wished for immortality. Ahad was not Old Bug, but he had lived for over two hundred years. Of course he feared death.
"Wait. Why would a powerful man like you be willing to help an aberration like Emiya Kiritsugu? If you have any demands, we Einzbern are willing to meet them."
Having remained lively and well for more than two hundred years, Ahad could tell that Shirou was the other side's true core fighting force. As long as Shirou withdrew from the battle, he was confident that the Combat Homunculi's superior physical abilities would be enough to take down Emiya Kiritsugu.
Besides, the strong all had things like pride. At worst, he should be like an ordinary magus—someone who could be swayed by profit.
And combat power at the level of a Servant was worth recruiting. As for his appearance, which looked no older than seven or eight, no magus would care. Those who pretended to be young were everywhere in the magecraft world.
Unfortunately, Ahad's calculations fell completely flat. He could never have known that Shirou was a complete anomaly, someone who could not be judged by ordinary standards.
"Meet my demands?" Shirou tilted his head. If he had been an adult, the gesture would have looked cool, but now it merely made him look cute. "Don't joke around. My surname is Emiya."
Hearing Shirou's words, Ahad immediately realized things were bad. Since he had put it that way, the two were almost certainly on the same side. Furthermore, Einzbern had already declined. Even an alchemist family with a thousand-year legacy would struggle to withstand combat power at the level of a Servant.
Looking at Ahad's gritted teeth and panicked expression, Shirou revealed his next plan. "Hey, hey, old man, no need to look so dejected. How about this? Let's make a deal."
"A deal?"
"That's right, a deal. Return Illya to us, and lend me the Einzbern name for a few years. Hmm... ten years! In exchange, I can solve one problem for you that can be solved by force. Of course, if I can't beat them, then the deal is off."
After hearing Shirou's terms, Ahad considered them for a while before finally saying, "Deal! But you must not use the Einzbern name to make powerful enemies for us."
Shirou nodded his little head. Ahad's response was within his expectations. Some things could not be pushed too far, after all. This was a family with a two-thousand-year legacy.
As the saying went, a starved camel was still bigger than a horse. If they could create an Avalon, they could create other things as well. Who knew what kind of devastating weapon they might come up with? Meanwhile, aside from skills that every Arrancar knew, such as Cero, Sonido, and Hierro, Shirou's side only knew Projection and Reinforcement.
Meanwhile, Kiritsugu watched the entire conversation between the two. Yes, he merely watched!
In his view, Shirou was very mature for his age, and more importantly, he possessed power! After Kiritsugu taught him the magecraft of Reinforcement and Projection, Shirou had already understood that he and the magi on television were different.
Ordinary people and magi belonged to two entirely separate worlds. Since Kiritsugu had opened the first door for him, Shirou would definitely keep questioning him about it. Even if Kiritsugu had not told him at first, Shirou would have pestered him until he did.
Kiritsugu could not withstand it. After repeatedly stressing certain things, he told Shirou everything he knew.
That made obtaining the Einzbern name important. After all, Kiritsugu knew perfectly well just how foul his reputation was outside.
After the "negotiation" ended, Shirou walked over to Kiritsugu and said,
"Now then—next, we're going to find my sister, right? That's correct, isn't it, Dad?"
"Yeah, that's right. Sorry to trouble you, Elder Ahad. Please lead the way," Kiritsugu said to Ahad.
"No, no, it's no trouble at all. Please follow me, gentlemen," old Ahad said respectfully.
"Sella, Lizelotte, what do you think Grandpa Ahad went off to do?" On a large bed in a large room within the great castle, a white-haired, red-eyed girl who looked around three or four asked the two maids by her bedside.
Her name was Illya. Since she was the product of a union between a homunculus and a human, her growth rate was slower than that of humans, roughly at a ratio of two to one. Thus, though she looked like a little girl of three or four, she was actually already seven or eight.
"I do not know, Lady Illya. It seemed the head of the family said he was going to drive away intruders," Sella answered meticulously.
Like Illya, the two of them were homunculi, created as vessels for the Holy Grail. They had originally been scheduled for disposal as failed products, but their lifespans had been extended because they served Illya. They were also the only two homunculi in the castle permitted to speak.
"Oh!!! There you are, there you are! Hey, Dad, I found her!" A voice that had never before appeared in the castle entered the ears of the three girls.
"An intruder!" Lizelotte murmured. At the same time, she pushed off with her feet and threw a fierce punch toward the source of the voice.
Unlike Sella, Lizelotte possessed enough strength to arm-wrestle Medusa, the Rider who had used Monstrous Strength during the Fifth Holy Grail War. Her power was evident.
Yet that punch, carrying several tons of force, was caught by a single hand.
"Well, well, you're strong! Not just anyone can possess this kind of strength. That punch must have carried several tons of force, right?" A flippant voice came from the darkness. Lizelotte was flung aside in an instant, and then a red-haired, brown-eyed boy who looked seven or eight stepped out.
"Who are you?" Sella stepped forward, quietly shielding Illya behind her.
"Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Oh, what a profound question. I'm afraid I cannot answer it." Shirou gave an exaggerated reply.
At that moment, a silver-bell-like laugh rang out from behind Sella. "Hehe, this person is so interesting, Sella."
Illya jumped down from the bed, lifted her skirt, and curtsied to Shirou. Having spent so long steeped in the noble etiquette of magi, it had gradually become a habit.
"My name is Illya, Illyasviel von Einzbern."
"Is that so? My name is Shirou. Emiya Shirou."
Before you continue