Chapter 623

Despite casting numerous Magecraft upon himself, it did not seem to cause him any burden, as if he himself had transformed into a Magecraft system.

If Flat Erskides and this boy practice the same system of Magecraft, then what is the difference?

The answer is very simple.

There's a world of difference in their pure performance.

If Flat is likened to a car, then Tia Erskides is a fictional mobile weapon with tank-level armor, warship-level power, and rocket thrust.

Conversely, Flat Erskodes' genius lies in his ability to drive the computing unit that exists solely for this fictional machine.

Now—the genius is gone, returning to the world as a natural disaster.

Faced with the rapidly approaching blade, the boy activated his ability.

The magic that circulates rapidly around the area deflects all the blades.

Rather than being deflected, it would be more accurate to say that the blades created by the Projection Magic disintegrated and crumbled into sand upon contact with the magical barrier surrounding the boy.

At the same time, it reads and hacks into Shirou's magic power, absorbing it into its own magic power cycle.

In addition, he used magic to keep several weapons intact and fired them at Shirou in retaliation.

The weapons that were supposed to launch a series of counterattacks were all knocked down by the Projection sword before they could even touch Shirou's body.

Tia Erskedes switched from defense to offense.

As he leaped into the air, he gathered his magic and unleashed the same attack he had previously used to snipe Sajyou Ayaka.

A dark shadow loomed behind the boy again, and high-speed, spinning beams of magic shot out from all around.

Generally speaking, the destructive power of a human Magecraft's direct use of magic is extremely limited.

However, through some unknown process, the power of the magic beam reached several thousand or even hundreds of times its normal strength, rising without limit and exceeding the range that "Magic Resistance" could influence.

Shirou immediately stopped the Projection Magic and deployed a dome-shaped defensive Noble Phantasm in front of him.

Countless beams of light instantly converged in front of Tia Erskides, transforming into a monster formed from magical light that attacked.

The magical energy, which seemed capable of penetrating everything, immediately deflected upon encountering Shirou's Projection dome-shaped shield.

Normally, those refracted beams should have destroyed the surrounding high-rise buildings, but after Shirou's adjustments, they all returned along their original paths and were aimed at the user of the Magecraft.

"... Ugh!"

Tia Erskides frowned.

Ridiculous! Does he intend to fight me while protecting this city?

He initially thought that magic beams, which travel in near-straight lines, could be easily dodged by observing their trajectory, but he quickly dismissed this naive idea.

The beam of light, deflected and reflected by Shirou, was infused with Shirou magical power, transforming into light with guiding capabilities.

Tia Erskides had no choice but to abandon his evasive maneuver and instead opt for defense.

While using his flowing magic to counter the counterattack, he accelerated his consciousness again, searching for an opening in his attack within his slow-motion vision.

But within this slowed-down field of vision, only the incoming magical light remained unchanged.

This is to be expected, since the "dome" Projection by Shirou is a dragon phantom originating from Britain, guarding the "horizon" and "border" that lead to the other world, and there is no possibility of it losing speed.

As a result, Tia Erskodes had no choice but to give up the opportunity to counterattack and focus all her magical energy on defense.

"I see, you're quite strong... I may have underestimated Human History."

The alien-like boy murmured calmly, "Worth considering. Let me see more of your power."

He quietly adjusted his breathing, focusing his defenses while calmly gathering his magical power.

Shirou wouldn't give him a chance to catch his breath, using the Projection sword blades as steps as he leaped towards him, who was standing in the air above.

"If I do that... what are you going to do?"

Tia Erskides unleashed a stream of refined, high-density magic downwards.

If Shirou manages to dodge, the tallest building in the city Crystal Hill, will instantly turn into rubble, and those inside will not be spared.

For Tia Erskides, who was determined to take revenge on humanity and the Holy Grail War, this meant nothing.

Okay, make your choice.

Are you going to give up chasing me?

Or are you saying you'd attack me even if it meant sacrificing everyone in the building?

Shirou did not retreat, meaning he abandoned the people of Crystal Hill.

Suddenly, countless shimmering golden chains shot up from the ground, enveloping the entire building.

"What...!?"

Tia Erskides looked bewildered.

It wasn't Shirou protected Crystal Hill, but Enkidu, who had to watch the game after losing a game of rock-paper-scissors.

Although interfering in the battle is forbidden, it doesn't say you can't protect the surrounding area, right? Enkidu curled the corners of his mouth.

"Tch... You knew he would do this all along!?"

Seeing his full-force attack blocked by the chains encasing the building, the boy couldn't help but frown.

The perfect teamwork between Shirou and Enkidu reminded him of his friend who had died tragically.

However, the urgent situation left him no time to reminisce about the past.

Shirou approached from below and drew the "Enma-Blade" from its sheath.

To Tia, who possessed extraordinary vision, that knife was also extremely dangerous.

We absolutely cannot let them cut to our core!

A black blade emerged from the crack in Tia Erskides' chest.

It's a substance composed of magic power compressed to its limit, equivalent to Noble Phantasm.

Shirou, however, severed the seemingly invincible black blade as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

That was a realm beyond Tia Erskides' comprehension.

While their knowledge of Magecraft has surpassed human intelligence, their knowledge of Martial Arts is completely lacking.

He could only flee into the sky while creating black blades to stop Shirou's advance.

The two continued to ascend, gradually moving away from the city.

At first, Tia Erskides was barely able to withstand Shirou's fierce attacks.

However, over time, his function as a magic system became disordered.

Tia Urskodes's execution of the technique was perfect; the difference between him and Shirou is...

It's a difference in combat experience.

When approaching capacity, the key to victory lies in maintaining balance.

In this way, Shirou seized upon his opponent's weakness.

As the demonic blade relentlessly approached him, countless thoughts flashed through the boy's mind.

I'm going to be killed...!

He was just born into this world...

They didn't even use their full strength...

I haven't even had a chance to avenge my friend, and I'm already going to "end" here?

"...!!"

Tia Erskides' last conscious thought was of the demonic sword flashing through his field of vision.

Inside the crater, which was tens of meters in diameter and ten meters deep, Tia Erskedes lay motionless.

In the end, Shirou's "Enma-Blade" did not pierce through his core located in the center of his chest, but instead slammed him heavily to the ground like a baseball being hit.

He recalled the rumors he had heard when he lived with Flat Erskides.

It is said that the highest level of swordsmanship is not cutting down falling leaves or feathers, but quite the opposite.

The highest level of swordsmanship is to strike with all your might but cut nothing at all.

From this perspective, Shirou has undoubtedly reached the end of the sword's journey.

For the first time, Tia Erskides felt fear.

It turns out that I am not omniscient and omnipotent, and that there are still areas in the world that I have not yet explored.

Until recently, he had fantasized about commemorating his friend's death by destroying the world; now he finds that idea utterly ridiculous.

The impact of the fall to the ground temporarily impaired Tia Erskides' functions, but the damage was not irreversible.

The real harm comes from within.

Although they couldn't use their strongest Magecraft, even if they had, the outcome of the battle probably wouldn't have changed.

There was no way he could beat that boy.

Just looking into his eyes felt like all the magic in my brain had been drained.

It wasn't that Shirou Amamiya failed to sever Tia Erskides, but rather that he chose not to.

This was actually vaguely sensed during the battle.

The boy knew Flat, which is why he showed mercy.

But what's even more surprising is --

It seems that Shirou Amamiya not only knows "Flat Erskides" but also has some knowledge of "Tia Erskides".

When exactly was it?

Footsteps could be heard above the pit.

Shirou slid down the slope and came to the side of Tia Erskodes, who was unable to move.

"..."

What does he want to do?

The boy felt only unease.

Shirou crouched down next to Tia and reached into the pocket of his tattered clothes.

After some fumbling, Shirou pulled out Flat's cell phone, a product of modern technology.

In the fight just now, the phone was already damaged beyond recognition.

"Is this what mobile phones will be like in a few years? They've become incredibly small."

Shirou looked at the phone in his hand in surprise, then poured magic into it.

To Tia Erskides' bewildered gaze, the phone screen, which should have been destroyed, lit up again.

It's fixed...?

The boy looked surprised and began to wonder: Could his Magecraft really do that?

The answer is no.

Tia Erskides was able to gather all the semiconductor components in the city above his head and then fuse them into a malevolent star powerful enough to destroy the area within hundreds of kilometers of Snowfield.

However, he couldn't do what Shirou did, making a phone that had been reduced to scrap metal work again.

No matter how sophisticated his magical manipulation techniques were, he couldn't understand it.

Create an idea (with what intention).

The fundamental essence (what is the goal).

Constituent matter (by what it is the raw material).

Production techniques (which skills should be honed)

Growth experience (what one thinks about).