Chapter 824

While thinking with a hint of jealousy, Illya wore a relaxed expression.

It's over... that's what she thought.

However, Shirou's expression remained serious.

--The boy with the power of the Mystic Eyes eye saw the astonishing scene through the explosion.

"!?"

In the center of the explosion, where the light had subsided, that thing appeared.

Something that looked like a pure white shield... no, that's not right, it's a city wall.

Incredibly, massive chalk-white walls stood within the underground cavity.

Luvia: "How could this be? It actually blocked that attack..."

Rin: "Where did that thing come from...? No, let's retreat first! The operation has failed, let's go back..."

The arrows that Shirou and Chloe shot at it didn't even cause the slightest damage.

Realizing what the chalk wall was, Shirou warned Tohsaka and the others.

Be careful...

"Well then, it's my turn next."

As Shirou shouted a warning, Bazett rushed out from the rear of the battlefield.

The boy felt a sense of foreboding. Although Bazett did possess the strength to fight Heroic Spirit head-on, this enemy was far too formidable...

Shirou turned around and shouted at the crowd who were still standing there.

"Tohsaka, you lead everyone to retreat first! I'll go support Bazett-- "

Just then, a scorching yet familiar magical power emanated from behind the boy.

"What... what is that...!? What happened!? Miss Bazett is dead..."

Illya's eyes widened, and she screamed.

Bazett, covered in wounds and with a gaping hole in his chest, fell back to the ground.

Apart from Shirou, who turned around, no one realized what had happened.

Just as Bazett rushed into the black mist to attack, arrowheads resembling clock hands appeared from all directions around her.

The compressed beams of magic shot from those arrows pierced through the body of the Sealing Designation Enforcer, whose defenses were formidable, protected by Rune Magecraft.

"Nine penetrating wounds... of which the fatal one is to the heart."

Bazett, lying on the ground, made a faint sound.

"Condition... completed...!"

"What!?"

Amidst Rin Tohsaka's surprised exclamation, Bazett, whom everyone thought was beyond saving, began to move as if nothing had happened.

She charged toward the enemy with astonishing speed, throwing a punch at the head of the enemy figure shrouded in black mist.

The scene, which defied common sense, left the girls speechless.

"Liar!? My heart was clearly pierced, why!?"

"Resurrect..." Shirou said.

"Huh!?"

Shirou explained, "That must be the resurrected Runes... It probably activated the resurrected Runes the instant the heart stopped."

In the distant past, when he was still a naive knight traveling with a witch, he was saved many times by her resurrected Runes.

"Isn't that kind of Magecraft Noble Phantasm -level spell?!"

"Only by reaching this level can one truly engage in direct combat with Heroic Spirit."

Shirou's matter-of-fact explanation left Rin and Luvia stunned, making them realize once again the terrifying power of the Sealing Designation Enforcer.

Bazett is the inheritor of the Mythic Mystic Code, an exceptionally skilled Rune Magecraft mage and martial arts fighter, but even so...

"Gurgle!"

Bazett's fist, which he swung with all his might, was easily caught by the enemy in the black mist with one hand.

She thought this would be a good opportunity to counterattack, but instead it put her in a difficult position with the enemy.

At the same time, twelve arrowheads reappeared and were aimed at Bazett.

"It's still no use. Even with Bazett's Heroic Spirit -like power, she's no match for that guy..."

"Huh? What does this mean...!?" Luvia blinked.

"Wait... Shirou! Do you know something? Who exactly is this Heroic Spirit?"

Rin Tohsaka noticed the boy's unusual behavior and asked loudly.

"That's not Heroic Spirit, it's a god."

Shirou told everyone what he had discovered.

Upon hearing the word "gods," everyone's eyes widened.

"Gods? How could that be... In modern times, gods shouldn't be able to act..."

"Now is not the time to talk about these things."

Shirou interrupted Rin Tohsaka's confusion.

Bazett is already under her opponent's control; if she continues to stand there in a daze, she will truly be in danger.

Leave it to me.

As he spoke, Shirou took a step forward and charged towards the enemy.

He leaped into the air, and using the force of his fall, swung down the double blades in his hands.

Just as the blow was about to strike the enemy's arm, the enemy immediately released his grip on Bazett's fist and jumped backward a short distance.

"Thank you... I'm saved," Bazett said gratefully.

"Don't relax, it's not over yet."

As Shirou finished speaking, twelve distorted beams of light enveloped the spot where he and Bazett stood.

"Nine Lives (Nine Lives--!")

"Blades of Chaos" unleashed an eight-hit combo, blocking all the attacks at the last second.

After completing this series of actions, the Blades of Chaos was completely shattered.

But Shirou didn't stop.

"Projection, begin (Trace On)!"

He charged straight toward the enemy who was trying to create distance, gripping his new weapon with both hands.

What appeared in the boy's hand was the supreme Golden Holy Sword.

Shirou lifted Excalibur above his head.

Centered on the tip of the holy sword, the surrounding atmosphere began to spiral and gather like a tornado.

Shirou unleashed by swinging the holy sword so hard was not the light of the holy sword.

If his guess is correct, the black mist and the holy sword have similar magical properties, making it difficult for them to be effective.

What he released towards the black magical mist was intense wind pressure.

"----" Gale Force Hammer "!!"

With Shirou's shout, a tremendous gust of wind swept through the underground space.

Where is the enemy!?

"I don't know... but the magic mist has disappeared! That means I can attack directly...!"

"Shirou!?"

Shirou, having dispersed the magical mist, continued running towards the enemy.

He now knows the true identity of the eighth Class Card.

That stubborn idiot...!!

There's no need to be so gentle with that girl; she's very resilient, no matter how much you beat her, she won't break...

This time I won't hold back!!!

Shirou thought angrily as he gripped the holy sword and took a step forward.

"Huh...?"

As a result, when he finally saw the true face in the black fog... his mind went completely blank.

The holy sword, which was originally intended to strike the enemy's head, vanished along with its lost fighting spirit upon seeing the unsuspecting figure.

However, how could such a rapid advance be easily stopped?

Shirou's forward charge was unstoppable, and his body collided head-on with the enemy.

"Ugh...!"

Shirou and the enemy collided head-on, and both fell to the ground.

"Wh... what!? Amamiya- san!?"

"What... what exactly happened!?"

The voices of Illya and the others drifted from afar, Shirou slowly opened his eyes.

Then, he noticed that he seemed to have something extra in his hand...

... Um?

Illya: "Brother... brother... that...!"

Chloe: "A mysterious, infatuated woman has emerged from the black mist!?"

Rin Tohsaka and Luvia both looked dumbfounded.

"Well."

Hearing his sisters' surprised voices, Shirou looked down at the person he was pinning down.

"How warm-hearted you are... Shirou, I understand your excitement at reuniting with me, but couldn't you be a little gentler?"

"!?"

Shirou was speechless.

The person he used as a cushion was indeed the one he had imagined.

Her long, flowing blonde hair was styled into a headband at the back of her head, and her exquisite beauty exuded an air of nobility.

Most striking of all were those cold, yellow-green eyes that shone with a divine quality.

Lying beneath Shirou was none other than the deified Artoria Pendragon.

The truth behind the final eighth Class Card, Ruler, is her: Lion King, Goddess Rhongomyniad.

Only...

The Lion King glanced at the boy's left hand covering his body, then placed his right hand on top of it as well.

"Okay, if it's you, you certainly have that right... no, it's an obligation."

The Holy Lance Goddess spoke with a serious expression.

"Shirou, use these hands of yours to witness my growth so far."

"..."

Illya and Chloe's eyes were completely dead.