Swordsmanship Duel

As Sasuke thrust toward Sasaki Kojiro, he released the seal on his wrist guard and summoned the Kusanagi Sword!

In an instant, Sasuke, holding the Kusanagi Sword in his right hand, thrust at Sasaki Kojiro and slashed horizontally at his neck!

Sasaki Kojiro hurriedly raised his blade to guard his left side!

"Clang!!!"

The instant their weapons collided, they let out an ear-splitting ring! The powerful impact of Sasuke's swing sent one side of the stone steps flying!

The stone steps that Caster had repaired with Magecraft just yesterday were destroyed once again!

Sasaki Kojiro, whose expression had been calm moments ago, now looked utterly serious. He'd even had to grit his teeth and use all his strength to block Sasuke's horizontal slash!

The impact of the blow seemed to tear the air around them apart! A fierce wind howled, whipping Sasaki Kojiro's blue ponytail wildly to one side!

Though his incredible agility had let him block Sasuke's thrusting slash, Sasuke twisted the hilt. With a sharp ring of steel, he instantly followed with a downward press and an upward slash!

The keen blade swept up toward Sasaki Kojiro's chin!

Having lost the initiative, Sasaki Kojiro had no choice but to defend again. He retreated a step, raised his blade, and pressed down to block Sasuke's upward slash!

"Rumble—"

The sword wind roared, howling through the starry night like a dragon's cry!

All of this was simply the result of Sasuke channeling Magecraft through his entire body.

Though the Sasuke standing there was only a Shadow Clone, Sasuke had given it ample magical energy, since there was a good chance they would fight today.

In the space of a single breath, Sasuke forced Sasaki Kojiro, who had the advantage of the terrain, back several steps.

Behind them, Saber knew exactly what she had to do.

She had to take the chance to rush into Ryudou Temple!

With that in mind, Saber quietly called out to Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka, who were still standing nearby, caught off guard:

"Shirou!"

"Rin!"

At her words, the two of them immediately understood what Saber meant!

Seeing that they'd caught on, Saber gripped the Invisible Sword and charged up toward Ryudou Temple as fast as she could!

Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka followed close behind Saber as she cut through the wind!

Seeing this, Sasaki Kojiro realized things were going badly and hurriedly retreated another step!

Taking advantage of that brief opening, Sasaki Kojiro used the terrain and all his strength to knock Sasuke's Kusanagi Sword aside with his Nodachi!

Then he swung his blade, intending to intercept Saber and the others!

But at that very moment, a skeletal arm glowing dark purple clamped down on the blade of Sasaki Kojiro's Nodachi!

In an instant, with his blade pinned, Sasaki Kojiro lost his best chance to stop Saber and the others.

That allowed Saber and the others to slip past him and rush into Ryudou Temple!

[Susanoo]

Surrounded by Susanoo in its initial stage, Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan was active. His expression looked somewhat grim beneath its dark purple glow.

"Sasaki Kojiro."

"This will be your last battle in this world."

As he spoke, the skeletal arm of Susanoo that gripped Sasaki Kojiro slowly faded away, and the bones protecting Sasuke also disappeared.

Before long, Caster's furious scolding rang out from Ryudou Temple above:

"Assassin, what the hell are you doing!!!"

The composed, feminine voice that had spoken last time was now frantic and furious.

Sasaki Kojiro listened to Caster's reprimand with an unconcerned expression. He looked at Sasuke with a wry smile, then spread his hands helplessly.

"Honestly, if that vixen had spent more time preparing for this, she wouldn't be taking it out on me."

Even though Sasaki Kojiro could use the terrain to handle all kinds of battles, his supposed advantage had vanished completely against Sasuke's Susanoo.

Before, Sasaki Kojiro had been able to use the terrain to attack from above, but Sasuke could ignore it entirely with Susanoo—and even turn the tables and suppress him.

Especially just now, when Sasaki Kojiro had been distracted by the attempt to intercept Saber and the others, he'd left openings everywhere for Sasuke.

And yet, even then, Sasuke hadn't taken the opportunity to strike.

Unable to understand Sasuke's actions, Sasaki Kojiro asked:

"You could have used your full strength to cut me down. Why did you hold back?"

"That vixen up there is no easy opponent."

"The Servant who just went up was Saber, right?"

"Or do you really believe Saber can defeat that vixen?"

Standing below the steps with the Kusanagi Sword in one hand, Sasuke looked utterly calm.

"It doesn't matter."

"Whether Saber is there or not, you and Caster won't survive the night."

"As for why I didn't take the chance to kill you just now..."

"I simply felt like it."

"Besides, it would be a shame to kill you so easily when you have such fine swordsmanship."

Though Sasaki Kojiro's magical energy was lacking, his swordsmanship certainly deserved the title of swordmaster.

Perhaps Sasuke's long time without a serious battle had left him itching for a fight. Or perhaps he simply admired Sasaki Kojiro.

Either way, Sasuke wanted to test whose swordsmanship was superior.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

At that, Sasaki Kojiro raised his head and laughed with his blade in hand. But as his laughter faded, his expression sharpened, and he slowly lifted the Nodachi with both hands.

The blade gleamed coldly in the bright moonlight. Sasaki Kojiro no longer cared about anything happening inside the temple; he focused entirely on facing Sasuke.

And that was exactly the outcome Sasuke wanted.

The battle was about to begin.

Unlike Sasuke, who had seized the initiative earlier, Sasaki Kojiro struck first this time!

The quiet night seemed to split apart as Sasaki Kojiro's blade tore through the air and came crashing down toward Sasuke's head!

But Sasuke, his Mangekyō Sharingan active, had already seen the attack coming. He raised his blade with incredible speed and blocked it!

Another powerful shockwave burst from the point where their weapons met, shaking the trees on either side!

The sheer clash of metal could not have produced such destructive force.

Ordinary people could no longer follow a battle moving at such incredible speed. Even a video camera could only capture the two of them turning into streaks of light, using their swordsmanship to counter each other.

Sparks flew across the battlefield as the two fighters moved back and forth along the stone steps, their every clash accompanied by a thunderous boom!

Every step they took punched straight through the ground!

Every swing unleashed a blast of air that felled the trees beside them!

The stone steps seemed like a pile of foam, flying in every direction as they fought. In an instant, some were reduced to dust and scattered through the night sky!

After another exchange, the neat stone steps leading to Ryudou Temple had become a field of craters.

Perhaps by unspoken agreement, the two now stood facing each other at a short distance on a relatively level platform.

The next exchange would decide the winner.