Chapter 617
"!!"
The True Assassin looked on incredulously, and Tsubaki Kuruoka shouted the name "Jester".
"----"
Is there anything more desperate than this?
The Pale Rider lay motionless on the ground, the True Assassin was suspended in mid-air, and Dorothea's intestines were spilled all over the ground.
Only Crimson Moon Brunestud stood unharmed in the garden, his cold face conveying no warmth.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
The little girl lay on top of the "shadow," sobbing uncontrollably.
Ah... it's over, Crimson Moon thought.
I went a little overboard with the game just now; I've really messed up the child.
Crimson Moon felt regretful: It seems she won't be able to have fun. She should end this world as soon as possible and fulfill her contract with Shirou.
However, the King of the True Ancestors miscalculated one thing.
Or rather, she doesn't understand humans.
Crimson Moon always believed that the girl "Chun" was an innocent girl who was affected by an illness and was appropriate for her age.
In fact, Chun can indeed be described as innocent and naive.
She, living in this world, is a young girl who is the right age for her.
But Crimson Moon didn't know that her naive nature was the result of enduring countless pains.
Because of that very nature, the girl, who didn't understand why everyone was angry, despite her fear, her desire to cry, and her prayers for happiness—ultimately realized it.
"I see..."
The girl, who had been searching through the "experiences" she had accumulated since birth, arrived at an answer.
So, I "failed" again...
After sadly lowering her head, Chun slowly raised it again.
Then, desperately trying not to cry again, she said to everyone around her:
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... everyone..."
She glanced at her first friend (Dorothea), then at her sister (the True Assassin) who was suffering because of her.
And so—Tsubaki realized what she should do.
"I'll do my best... I definitely won't mess this up again."
As if trying to absorb him into her body, the girl clung tightly to the Pale Rider's body.
"Mr. Black, please..."
The girl's Command Spell emitted a faint glow once more.
"Let us defeat our enemy."
"I already said, the method for using those Command Spell is—"
Crimson Moon was about to stop her when she suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Because the Command Spell of Tsubaki Kuruoka shone for the third and final time.
"Even if this world ends, it doesn't matter."
Along with the young girl's awakening, an unparalleled and immense magical power was infused into the "Shadow."
Everyone could only watch helplessly as the strange event occurred.
The Pale Rider seemed to let out a mournful cry, his body shaking violently—
The black smoke dissipated in the next instant.
The red-haired boy stood in the center of the courtyard.
"Wow... you've done quite a few good things while I was away."
The True Assassin looked bewildered. "Uh, Shirou... there are two?"
Dorothea, now only her upper body visible, frowned and asked, "Is this the real boy?"
"... ha!"
Upon seeing Shirou Amamiya's appearance, Crimson Moon was first taken aback, then revealed an extremely happy smile.
"Hahahaha! So that's how it is! Hahahaha! What a masterpiece! Fantastic!!"
The King of the True Ancestors, devoid of any dignity, covered his face and threw his head back in laughter.
The "Shirou consciousness" that was originally dormant in this body has disappeared and been forcibly stripped away.
Indeed, if someone is the "master of the world," they could do even such outrageous things.
But--
What's truly interesting is the wish that the girl, Tsubaki Kuruoka, made with the Command Spell Seals.
How exactly did she manage to pull Shirou out of the vessel that had already been controlled by Crimson Moon?
The answer is quite obvious--
This time, Tsubaki Kuruoka did not choose to summon "the powerful monster she feared".
She summoned "the one whom Crimson Moon Brunestud feared".
"I didn't even realize it myself, but subconsciously I'm afraid of you... Shirou."
Crimson Moon Brunestud opened his arms, revealing a provocative smile.
"Who cares about that kind of thing?"
Shirou cracked his knuckles, his face devoid of any smile, only filled with rage.
"I really need to control you better, Crimson Moon."
Volume 8: 385 The Methods of Fuyuki City Golden-Ranked Fuyuki Urchin
How can we define the battle that is about to take place in the barrier world? It can only be described as "a war between one human and one planet."
It transcends competition between species.
It goes beyond the scope of life resisting natural disasters.
What Assassin and the others are witnessing now is a scene of one person fighting against an entire planet.
After Shirou was separated and obtained an independent Spirit Origin, Crimson Moon Brunestud's appearance also changed rapidly.
Deep, alluring crimson eyes; voluptuous, luxurious physique.
Her skin was so white it was almost transparent, as if you could see that what flowed beneath it wasn't blood, but pure energy.
Her flawless beauty radiated self-satisfaction, and her long hair, reaching to the ground, was dazzling and splendid.
The King of the True Ancestors, with his slanted eyes and upturned lips, looked just like Queen descended from the moon in a fairy tale.
"I'm so glad... Shirou, to be able to fight you again like this."
"Isn't that pretty capable? It even exceeded my expectations. I'll have to thank this little devil of a human afterwards."
"I won't let you touch a single finger."
Looking at the cheerful Crimson Moon, Shirou frowned and muttered:
"I'm going to go... This time I'm going to beat you so badly you'll never be able to laugh again."
"Alright, Shirou —try using your mangled, dead state to suppress my smile."
"--------!"
Without wasting words, Shirou launched an attack, unleashing countless swords constructed from Projection Magic.
But this is pointless.
The planet's atmosphere is Crimson Moon's hands and feet.
With just a flick of its claws, the resulting spatial rift erased those weapons from the physical realm.
Shirou rode the storm created by the sword's blade, rapidly closing in on Crimson Moon Brunestud and grasping the "Blades of Chaos" in his hand.
"Snort."
The Moon King effortlessly dodged the close-range slash, but Shirou, taking advantage of her dodge, moved forward further and unleashed another series of slashes.
Crimson Moon dodged again, but as the blade passed through her flying hair, several strands of golden hair gently fell to the ground.
Shirou's swordsmanship had long since reached a level where he could slice through even flying strands of hair or drifting leaves.
He continued to advance, dodging Crimson Moon's claws with nimble footwork, and even using the chains shot out from behind Crimson Moon as stepping stones to unleash a sword dance as graceful as crane wings.
An ordinary Servant would have been defeated by such a fierce attack long ago, but Crimson Moon calmly withstood all of Shirou's attacks.
Although Crimson Moon possessed physical abilities superior to anyone else, she controlled her Spirit Origin output, adjusting it to be only slightly stronger than Shirou's.
Faced with such an opponent, Shirou believed there was no reason to lose in close combat.
Their combat experience was completely different, yet he was unable to gain the upper hand, resulting in a stalemate of attack and defense.
"..."
Seeing the surprise on the red-haired boy's face, Crimson Moon raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, are you surprised? I'm able to handle your skills like this thanks to you."
"Thanks to me?"
"That's right, it was you who showed me the way humans fight."
Unlike the Principle of star generation, mixing, and mutual domination, this is the combat method of weaker races.
Hmph, although it's roundabout, it's really interesting, almost addictive... Heh!
As she said this, Crimson Moon's long, beautiful legs drew an arc and aimed a kick at Shirou's neck.
"!"
Shirou quickly parried with his twin swords to defend himself, and although he had done his best to cushion the blow, he was still sent flying nearly ten meters away by the astonishing force.
Having already possessed the most powerful mecha on the planet, she has now begun learning human combat techniques.
Crimson Moon smiled and raised her arm.
"Oh right, the way to use the claws too—"
"!!!"
Shirou quickly activated his defensive Noble Phantasm, blocking her attack at the last second.
"Oh, the hardest substance on this planet, Albion's outer layer... It's worth destroying."
"I won't give you another chance to attack," Shirou thought to himself.
In an instant, hundreds of Projection sword blades surrounded Crimson Moon from all directions, leaving no blind spots, forcing her to use "Marble Phantasm" and create some distance.
"It startled me; it suddenly released a sword with a completely different vector."
"You didn't do this when you fought me back then... Shirou, has your Projection Magic improved?"
"I'm quite interested," said Crimson Moon Brunestud.
"Of course."
Shirou snorted, then added.
"The same goes for height; it will continue to grow."
I haven't said anything yet... Crimson Moon's lips twitched.
She had indeed been wanting to complain about how Shirou had become so short.
"That's wonderful; the potential for human growth is one of the few things I appreciate."
So that's how it is. Shirou has grown up in a place I didn't know about. That's something to be thankful for.