Shirou's [Origin]

"It's over..."

[That's right, it's over.]

Outside Touko Aozaki's line of sight, a distressed figure silently appeared. Araya, whose body should have been devoured by the "monster," reappeared unharmed.

Watching Touko Aozaki's unguarded back, Araya, who had been silent, extended his right hand...

However, before Araya could fully raise his right hand, a voice suddenly rang out from the other end of the hall—

"Miss Touko Aozaki, watch out behind you!"

"Varied--"

Upon hearing the sound, Touko Aozaki realized someone was behind her and instinctively lunged forward to avoid the impending attack.

Araya lost his chance to launch a sneak attack due to the sudden interruption of the sound, immediately changed his fist into a palm and continued to pursue Touko with the intention of at least seriously injuring Touko Aozaki.

"Trace on--!"

"Silence!"

However, the whooshing sound beside his ear immediately dispelled Araya's next thought. He paused slightly, and the triple barrier surrounding him was fully activated!

(I wouldn't mind if you considered it an extra chapter)

Chapter 304. Shirou's [Origin]

"Silence!"

The moment he sensed an unknown object hurtling towards him, Souren Araya decisively erected his triple barrier.

Regardless of what exactly attacked Araya, Touko Aozaki, who was closest to Araya, suffered considerable losses.

Although Araya's sneak attack didn't succeed, Touko Aozaki still suffered considerable damage from being caught in the fully deployed barrier at such close range.

The coat she had previously worn, which could conceal various Magecraft system circuits, was now scattered in pieces on the ground.

It was an impact invisible to the eye, striking her body evenly from all directions, causing her, who was already on the ground, to roll forward several more times.

"Pfft--!"

Blood gushed from her mouth. Although the coat, now in pieces, had shielded Touko Aozaki from most of the attack, the remaining impact still caused her bones to creak and groan.

"Miss Touko Aozaki, are you alright?"

Suddenly, a boy's voice, tinged with panic, rang in my ears.

Who is it?

Touko Aozaki's slightly dizzy mind made a brief attempt at thinking, until she matched the voice with the figure in her memory...

"You brat, what are you doing here?!"

Forcibly suppressing the blood gushing from her throat, Touko Aozaki raised her head to look at Shirou standing before her, her heart filled with a mixture of shock and anger.

To be honest, Touko Aozaki had hoped deep down that someone would come to her aid, but it definitely wouldn't be that brat Shirou.

Although Shirou's earlier warning saved Touko Aozaki's life, in a place where even Touko Aozaki couldn't protect herself...

Seeing Shirou's innocent expression, Touko Aozaki sighed and let him help her up.

"Stand behind me and don't run around."

After shakily propping herself up, Touko Aozaki gently tapped Shirou on the head before turning her gaze to Araya, who had been silent since earlier.

Touko Aozaki glanced at Araya in front of her, then out of the corner of her eye, she looked at the other side of his body, which was now only half-destroyed, and a look of understanding flashed in her eyes.

"I see, was that a doll just now?"

Araya gave an affirmative answer, "That's right. Although my doll-making skills are not as good as yours, I also have the crafting techniques left by our ancestors. You should know about that 'demon monk' who makes dolls, right?"

The creature that was just devoured by the black cat was not Araya himself, but a puppet that looked remarkably like Araya. It was because of the puppet's presence that Araya didn't rush forward to engage in hand-to-hand combat with Touko Aozaki.

Instead, he used this incredibly realistic doll to deceive Touko Aozaki's eyes, making her believe she had won and thus lower her guard. Araya's true form then took this opportunity to move behind Touko Aozaki.

Although it is unknown when Araya replaced the original body and the puppet, it is possible that the puppet appeared from the beginning, or it was replaced in the middle. Since this is a temple built by Souren Araya, it is not surprising that something happened.

If it weren't for Shirou's timely warning, Araya's sneak attack would likely have succeeded...

Even Touko Aozaki broke out in a cold sweat when she thought about the near-tragedy that happened back then.

After answering Touko Aozaki's question, Araya ignored Touko Aozaki and focused all his attention on the boy who had interrupted his fatal attack.

"This boy..."

Before Araya could finish speaking, Touko Aozaki had already pulled Shirou behind her to block his view, while simultaneously shouting at Araya:

"Araya, shouldn't we let our grudges not involve an unrelated child?!"

"Is it irrelevant...?"

Upon hearing Touko Aozaki's words, Araya's gaze shifted slightly downwards. Not far from him, a long spear lay silently on the ground. Its vaguely familiar design seemed to pierce a memory deep within Araya's heart—

A hospital corridor, an unknown man, an antique-style spear, and those terrifying, Mystic Eyes of Petrification...

Wang Xiaoming, a name as ordinary as any random passerby, brought him endless nightmares at the time. If his true form hadn't already been attached to the [Sixty-Four-Layer Offering Hall], his long pursuit of the Root would probably have ended there.

At this moment, seeing the spear that had once been in that man's hand reappear before his eyes, Araya began to make some guesses about Shirou's identity:

"This boy must be that man's child, right?"

"So what if it is?"

Touko Aozaki, sensing something was amiss, dared not relax for a moment. Magic flowed through her Magic Circuit throughout her body, preparing her for what was about to happen:

"Although the child's father interrupted your plans, now that you've obtained the formula, it means your overall plan hasn't been affected, right?"

As for the relics he took from you, they are now with me. You can have them if you want!

As she spoke, Touko Aozaki took out a gray stone from her bosom; it was the relic that Wang Xiaoming had taken from Araya earlier.

"It's useless now."

Araya's deep voice echoed in the hall.

The reason he buried the relic in his left hand was because the relic itself is a product of the holy monk's Nirvana, and it exists between life and death, which can disrupt the boundary between life and death, thus making it impossible for the unawakened Shiki to see his [death line].

Now, even without the relics, he has still obtained Shiki's body. Although the loss is too great, it also means that the relics' greatest effect on him is no longer effective.

"So--"

The instant Araya raised his right hand, even Touko Aozaki, who had immediately sensed the spatial tremors and reacted accordingly, discovered—

Shirou, whom he had hidden behind his back, ended up absurdly appearing in the other's outstretched right hand.

Seeing this, Touko Aozaki disregarded her own injuries and shouted sharply:

"Souren Araya, do you think you can bear the consequences of harming this child?!"

"The owner of the Mystic Eyes of Petrification, so what..."

The path to the Root has been found. A few more steps and the wish will be fulfilled. Anyone who dares to stand in my way will be regarded Counter Force.

The air in the hall grew increasingly tense. It gradually solidified, carrying a dangerous, oppressive feeling, perhaps distorted by the Magecraft's murderous intent.

"Tch, damn it--"

Sensing the killing intent emanating from Araya, Touko Aozaki could no longer hold back. Suddenly, the tightly closed box at her feet opened, and the "black cat" that had almost split Araya in two reappeared.

"It's no use. Aozaki, I've already seen through your familiar's mechanism—the monster didn't jump out of the suitcase. It's just an image reflected by the suitcase, isn't it?"

Ignoring the black cat that lunged at him, Araya merely glanced at the open suitcase on the ground.

The moment the suitcase exploded, the black cat, which had been baring its teeth and claws, vanished into thin air without even uttering a cry.

Inside the broken suitcase was only a machine containing a lens and film—a damaged Projection.

"Aozaki, as long as you're still in this apartment building, you can't defeat me. However..."

Araya's gaze shifted to the boy she had captured:

"However, for the sake of our old classmate relationship, I might spare his life."

What do you want to do?

Touko Aozaki's expression turned somewhat surprised by Araya's words. However, Araya ignored Touko Aozaki and focused all his attention on the boy in front of him.

"I see a thirst for power in your eyes. If you were a little stronger, you might be able to defeat me. So..."

Araya extended his free left hand and placed it on the boy's face:

"So--

Young man, relax and accept this power.

At that moment, Araya's words seemed to transform from sound into text, bypassing Shirou's ears and imprinting themselves directly into his heart. Touko Aozaki, sensing Araya's thoughts, also changed her expression:

"Araya, you beast, you actually want a child to awaken their Origin?!"

[Art of Awakening Origin] is a forbidden technique that Araya learned in pursuit of the "Soul Prototype".

As Araya said, if the Origin is successfully awakened, Shirou will indeed possess immense power in an instant. However, there are advantages and disadvantages. If we use the theory of reincarnation to explain it, the Origin is the source of reincarnation, a cause determined from the beginning that will not change no matter how many times one reincarnates. Once the Origin is awakened, the directionality of the Origin accumulated from the beginning of existence will conflict with the will of the "Awakener".

How could Shirou, a mere ten-year-old child, possibly withstand the effects of "Origin"?

"I was simply fulfilling this boy's wish, allowing him to reclaim the power that was rightfully his."

Completely unmoved by Touko Aozaki's words, Araya even shifted his gaze away from her, as if victory was already assured for this taciturn man. He seemed far more pleased with the origin of this young man than with the resentful and miserable state of his former friend, now his adversary...

"Um?"

However, the moment the [Art of Awakening Origin] was activated, Araya's usually calm expression changed for the first time—

"Cough cough cough!"

Seeing Shirou being released by Araya, Touko Aozaki, completely bewildered by the situation, still struggled to get to Shirou's side to check on him.

"Ouch, it's so hot!"

However, before she could even take a few steps closer, she discovered that the surging heat emanating from Shirou was spreading outwards. It was a heat far more intense than normal flames, giving Touko Aozaki the illusion that even steel would melt.

However, in the next second, just like a piece of iron being thrown into ice water to cool down quickly, the intense heat vanished without a trace while stirring up a burst of steam.

Taking advantage of this moment, Touko Aozaki, disregarding the source of the earlier heat, went to Shirou's side and gave Shirou a brief full-body checkup...

"That brat!"

Seeing that the boy's breathing had stabilized but he had fallen into a deep sleep, Touko Aozaki shook her head and chuckled.

However, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, if anything had happened to this child, I wouldn't have the face to face that guy.

However, after regaining her composure, another question suddenly surfaced in Touko Aozaki's mind—

That strange temperature just now...

At this moment, Araya should have been the one most aware of the situation, instead focused his attention on his right hand, the one that had grabbed Shirou earlier. Even though a barrier had been set up, but...

Looking at his right hand, now charred and broken, he realized it had clearly lost its function as a hand.

Araya's expression seemed even more distressed than before.

"It failed..."

It felt like being underwater, surrounded by indistinguishable darkness, and like being weighed down by something heavy, unable to move freely...

[--bite]

In this darkness, as if sinking, fragmented pieces of memory flashed by in an instant and disappeared without a trace, as if there was no time to trace back the memories, the fragments flying away one after another.

Until finally everything disappeared, and we returned to that thick darkness.

[Bite--]

What was that sound?

A monotonous sound seemed to emanate from the other side of consciousness—