A human face, a beast's heart
Amidst the billowing black mist, a pair of metallic claws relentlessly pursued Shiki Ryougi. Enhanced by Magnetic Field Power, the claws were incredibly sharp, easily severing the sword in her hand. Shiki Ryougi could only retreat; despite possessing Mystic Eyes, her body was still human. Faced with such a high-frequency attack, human reaction time was ultimately limited.
The man before her was relentlessly pestering her like a mad dog, Shiki Ryougi felt a headache coming on. He seemed to recognize her, but she couldn't remember who he was no matter what. This wasn't her fault; her past memories were completely foreign to her, like watching a movie in a theater after so much time had passed—how could a moviegoer remember every single scene?
Besides, this guy's interaction with Shiki Ryougi was minimal, making him practically indistinguishable from a stranger.
"Shiki Ryougi, why are you hiding? And look at you... Have you really forgotten me? I am Lio Shirazumi!" The man in women's clothing shouted hoarsely, and at the same time, he unleashed an amazing power, violently dispersing the surrounding black mist.
"Who would remember the name of someone insignificant?" Shiki Ryougi moved with the agility of a cat. Although she couldn't confront him head-on, she could use his obsession to lure him into an encirclement.
Lio Shirazumi's feet sank into the mud the Magecraft had laid out beforehand. Immediately afterward, chains appeared from the air, piercing his body. Magdalene's Shroud of Magdalene quickly wrapped around him, binding him layer by layer. An opportunity! The Lines of Death was now right in front of Shiki Ryougi; even a broken sword would be enough to kill him.
Shiki Ryougi moved swiftly, her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception already clearly seeing the Lines of Death on his body. She didn't care about their past; she only wanted him to become a corpse completely.
However, facing this fatal blow, Lio Shirazumi showed no fear in her eyes, still staring intently at Shiki Ryougi, and slowly spoke:
"You've forgotten me? For you, I've become this inhuman, ghostly creature... and you don't even remember who I am?" A powerful electric current suddenly erupted from his body, and a force that didn't belong to him burst forth.
Magnetic Field Rotation – 200,000 horsepower!
The force that erupted tore apart the surrounding Magecraft and costumes, and also sent Shiki Ryougi flying. A doll caught her with threads, helping her land safely.
How could this be? He has no Source of Power, so how could he possess this power? But the facts are right before his eyes, and besides, this power comes at a price.
"Ugh--" Lio Shirazumi suddenly opened his mouth and vomited a large amount of undigested raw meat as if a tap had been turned on, followed by a dying whimper. The Magecraft and Touko Aozaki, who were extremely familiar with the human body, could immediately see the abnormality of the life force in his body.
"To modify the body, to exploit life, in exchange for the right to use this power?"
"Incomprehensible... At most, you'll only have six months to live. Every time you use your power, you're closer to death. What's the point of having immense power?"
"And it can't be restored; it's only a disposable battery, the less you use."
Many Magecraft immediately understood Lio Shirazumi's situation: trading his life for power. Moreover, this power wasn't even for himself; it was purely to serve that so-called "Supreme Heavenly King." This guy must be insane.
Whether he's truly insane or not, there's no denying that he's a formidable opponent.
Ignoring the surrounding chatter, Lio Shirazumi pulled out a sealed bag of "flour" from somewhere, tore it open with his teeth like a starving beast, and swallowed it whole, along with the plastic packaging. With a bob in his throat, he finally caught his breath.
Shiki Ryougi suddenly felt a little unwilling to pursue her past memories—what kind of people are these?
Even if her family is involved in organized crime, she shouldn't have any dealings with this kind of pervert, right?
"Shiki Ryougi, am I still the weakling you described? Now you should remember, right?"
"Ah... it seems to have happened in June?"
"It was July! I confessed to you!" Lio Shirazumi excitedly corrected, "You rejected me, saying, 'I hate weaklings.' I remember those words clearly. Look! Shiki Ryougi, I've become stronger now, even stronger than you!"
The day you rejected me, I killed someone... To cover my tracks, I ate him. It's because of you that I became like this, detached from the human world, living alone. But I should thank you; it's because of you that I was able to be recognized and gain this power!
But... it's so lonely... so incredibly lonely. I've always wanted a companion. Shiki Ryougi, how much longer are you going to play this game? You should be standing shoulder to shoulder with me. You clearly want to kill, so why are you with this group? We're the same kind of people!
Lio Shirazumi opened her arms wide and shouted, "So, come to my side, Shiki Ryougi!"
Silence, a deathly silence. Despite the life-or-death struggle, Lio Shirazumi's words and actions made Shiki Ryougi so embarrassed she wanted to disappear into the ground. At this moment, she truly understood the disgust and embarrassment of a fool confessing his love in public, despised by the entire school.
This can be seen as making up for her lack of school days at that age.
The Heroic Spirit and Magecraft on the Ark stared speechlessly at the person below. Tezcatlipoca sneered, "Where did you dig up this stupid dog? It's amazing you could find such a cowardly and insane piece of trash."
"This is so annoying... Aren't there any normal people among you who use Magnetic Field Power except for Bai Mo?" Shiki Ryougi felt like vomiting. Tezcatlipoca was right, where did this lunatic come from?
"I can understand if you're mentally ill, but can you please not drag me into this? Your kind? You should go find starving wild dogs in the mountains; they're your kind!"
Using the Touko doll's threads, Shiki Ryougi leaped off the deck like a pirate. Lio Shirazumi followed closely behind, but was outmaneuvered by the small boat she had prepared. He sprinted wildly through the nuclear-contaminated water, chasing relentlessly.
"What is she doing? Isn't abandoning support a suicide mission?" someone asked, puzzled.
Meanwhile, Kiritsugu Emiya, above, was well aware of Shiki Ryougi Shiki's intentions: two hundred thousand horses were too dangerous, and a slight misstep could destroy the entire Noah's Ark. She chose to shift the battlefield, both to deplete the enemy's limited strength and to buy time for the people on board to deal with Scheherazade.
Since Lio Shirazumi is so obsessed with her, he shouldn't go so far as to kill her.
"Scheherazade! Stop her right now!" Lio Shirazumi shouted.
Scheherazade unfurled the scroll, summoning many characters from One Thousand and One Nights. Of course, the people on the ship wouldn't let these familiars leave so easily.
"Everyone, please don't hurt them..." Scheherazade pleaded in a low voice, but Human Order. Artoria killed a familiar with a single sword strike, and just as the familiar vanished, a pure white halo appeared around it.
A deafening roar!
Noah's Ark shook violently, and a huge hole was blasted in the deck.
"They even gave you something to save your life. It seems that the Supreme Heavenly King cares about you quite a bit." Tezcatlipoca coldly observed the ornaments on Scheherazade and his familiar.
Each one is the culmination of the world's top scientists, containing the Magnetic Field Power of the Supreme Heavenly King, and will automatically retaliate once attacked. However, the difference is that Scheherazade's is for protection, while these familiars' is for direct self-destruction. As soon as they are attacked, they immediately transform into a kamikaze attack force.
"Everyone, please don't act rashly. We're only here to complete our mission. As for my colleagues, please be patient; we'll leave once we've finished our task."
Her words were gentle, yet carried a strong threat; this woman had the power to wipe out the remaining poor humans.
It's truly disheartening. The Supreme Heavenly King wasn't even present, yet a few casually chosen pieces have plunged everyone into a dire predicament. And now, Shiki Ryougi is in big trouble in the distance.