Chapter 33: The Master of Courting Death
Su Xiao made a gesture to Bubu Wang and Amu. In the adjacent bedroom, Illya was curled up under the covers, having never closed her eyes from start to finish. She had been constantly thinking of a countermeasure—how to remove the bomb inside her body.
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out. In the next bedroom, Tohsaka Rin’s body trembled in fright, and with a thud, she rolled off the bed.
“Ouch~”
Tohsaka Rin clutched her head, but in the next moment, her expression froze. On one wall of her bedroom, a large patch of ice crystals had formed.
In the adjacent bedroom, ice had frozen everything within. Illya was in a raised-hand pose, seemingly about to activate the Command Seal on her hand. Beside her, Su Xiao’s long blade pierced through Heracles’ head, with Cyan Steel Shadow Energy continuously being channeled into his body.
Not only that, but Su Xiao’s left arm, emitting a wisp of blue smoke, pressed against the back of Heracles’ neck. Heracles’ situation was utterly desperate. Amu held him tightly from behind, ice energy spreading into his body. Bubu Wang bit into his throat, and Realm Severing Thread wrapped around his legs.
“Roar!!”
Heracles let out a deafening roar, trying to break free from Amu’s grip. But a thin layer of pale blue crystal quickly formed on Su Xiao’s right fist, and he punched Heracles in the head.
Heracles’ roar was ear-splitting, sending out a shockwave that cracked all glass items within a hundred meters. Unfortunately, Heracles could no longer escape Amu’s hold. Under normal circumstances, Amu indeed couldn’t restrain Heracles, but Su Xiao was using the Devouring Core to absorb energy from his body, drastically weakening the enemy’s power.
The blue smoke gradually enveloped Heracles. Once it completely covered him, he lost all chance.
The blue smoke slowly expanded, soon reaching Heracles’ knees. Illya, frozen in ice, could only watch.
A sharp sound of wind cutting through the air came from the side. In an instant, the wall beside Su Xiao exploded, sending concrete debris flying as a spiral sword shot toward him.
Two layers of energy shields appeared beside Su Xiao. The spiral sword pierced the first layer but got stuck, not breaking through.
With a thunderous boom, magical energy spread as the spiral sword exploded, leaving a few marks on the second energy shield.
Su Xiao glanced through the hole in the wall. He vaguely saw a figure in a red coat in the distance.
“As expected, those who walk different paths cannot work together.”
Su Xiao tightened his grip on the back of Heracles’ neck, and the blue smoke completely enveloped Heracles.
Two kilometers away, atop a tall building, the metal bow in Archer Emiya’s hand dissipated.
“As you wish. We are now his enemies.”
Archer Emiya looked at Emiya Shirou beside him.
“Is that so? How long until he comes for us?”
Emiya Shirou clenched his fist as he spoke. He had ordered Archer Emiya to attack Su Xiao, not to court death, but for another reason.
Under Archer Emiya’s guidance, a few days ago, Emiya Shirou had found the location where Su Xiao fought Iron Rat and the others—that abandoned factory area. Seeing the scene of scattered limbs and blood everywhere, Emiya Shirou was deeply shaken.
Setting aside the fear, he felt more guilt and a sense of responsibility. He always believed that Su Xiao was the “demon” he had summoned, and that he bore responsibility for everything Su Xiao did.
Holding onto the belief that if he hadn’t summoned the “demon,” these people wouldn’t have died, Emiya Shirou solidified his resolve. Based on Archer Emiya’s observations over the past few days, Emiya Shirou devised a plan: actively oppose Su Xiao, then flee. He had to stall Su Xiao no matter what, to prevent more victims. Since he couldn’t win in a fight, this was his only option.
Another person might not do such a thing, but Emiya Shirou aspired to be a hero of justice. In his view, Su Xiao clearly belonged to the chaotic evil faction and couldn’t be left unchecked.
Thus, Archer Emiya’s sneak attack at the critical moment occurred. In Emiya Shirou’s plan, Su Xiao would immediately come after them.
However, the wind atop the tall building was strong, and Su Xiao didn’t come. He didn’t even leave the house, because he knew that with such an unprepared surprise attack, Emiya Shirou would try again. For now, dealing with Heracles was more important.
Inside the bedroom, the blue smoke enveloping Heracles gradually shrank. Heracles’ form inside slowly faded. After his heroic spirit energy was drained, he could only fade away. In truth, this great hero had never truly appeared—only a beast without reason, using his shell.
The blue smoke dissipated on Su Xiao’s arm. After checking the level of Cyan Steel Shadow, he frowned. He had previously devoured most of Cu Chulainn and an entire Heracles, yet Cyan Steel Shadow was still at Lv.45, not leveling up. The energy required to upgrade Cyan Steel Shadow was more than Su Xiao had imagined.
Lv.30 to Lv.35 was one stage for Cyan Steel Shadow. If each level in that stage required 5 energy points, then Lv.35 to Lv.40 required over 40 points per level. For Lv.40 to Lv.45, it was at least 300 points per level. Beyond Lv.45, based on the current situation, it would require at least 2,000 energy points per level.
Su Xiao had originally thought that devouring a few heroic spirits would raise Cyan Steel Shadow to Lv.50, but given the current situation, that seemed impossible.
[You have killed Heracles (Berserker).]
[Heracles is one of the seven heroic spirits participating in this Holy Grail War. Obtained World Source: 9.6%. Total World Source obtained: 16.9%.]
Seeing the notification from Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao felt something was missing. Then he realized—Heracles hadn’t dropped a treasure chest! This was definitely “extraordinary luck.”
Su Xiao looked at the disappearing blue smoke in his hand, calmed his mind, and turned his gaze to Illya, signaling Amu to release the freeze.
With a crisp crack, the translucent ice crystals shattered, and Illya slumped to the floor.
Su Xiao approached Illya. Illya clenched her fists and looked up at him.
“Liar. You liar.”
Illya looked furious, but she didn’t realize that when she swallowed that candy, she had already lost—she had no chance to compete for the Holy Grail. No, as the vessel of the Lesser Holy Grail, she was never meant to obtain it.
“That’s two. You’re noticeably weaker than before.”
Su Xiao observed Illya’s expression. Every time a heroic spirit died, Illya grew much weaker, indicating that summoning the Holy Grail was closer.
“Four left.”
Su Xiao signaled Amu to watch Illya. He needed to leave the Holy Grail World as quickly as possible. The old score with Blood Gate had been settled, and the person sent by the Holy Church had just died. If he didn’t end the Holy Grail War soon, unforeseen changes might occur, making the risk not worth the reward.
To end the Holy Grail War quickly, Illya, as the Holy Grail vessel, couldn’t die yet. As long as Su Xiao killed the remaining four heroic spirits, the Holy Grail War would be declared over.
Su Xiao’s stamina had recovered significantly, but full recovery would take one to two days. Time was what he lacked most.
Tohsaka Rin outside the door breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how sudden the previous events were, at least her friend Illya was still alive.
Su Xiao walked out of the house. His next stop: Ryuudou Temple.