Chapter 34: Are You Sure?
Ryudoji Temple is one of the famous scenic spots near Fuyuki City. Except during the Holy Grail War, it is usually managed by the Ryudo clan. One of its members, Ryudo Issei, attends the same school as Tohsaka Rin, and the relationship between the two is extremely hostile. He often calls Tohsaka Rin a 'vixen.'
Walking up the stone steps leading to Ryudoji Temple, Tohsaka Rin was in a good mood because she finally had a chance to take action. As for Illya, she kept staring at Su Xiao, looking as if she might bite him at any moment, though she didn't have a death wish.
Bubu Wang's steps were light, hopping five or six steps at a time, but his expression soon drooped because he remembered an old companion, the Grudge Creature·Honey Badger. Unfortunately, Honey Badger wasn't in this world.
Soon, Su Xiao saw Ryudoji Temple built on the mountaintop. The temple was pitch black inside, and faint magical energy fluctuations could be sensed.
Just as Su Xiao arrived before the temple gates, a figure gradually materialized. This person had a blue ponytail tied back and held a nearly one-and-a-half-meter-long guardless longsword in his arms. If one's stature wasn't tall enough, such a weapon would be unusable.
The manifested Heroic Spirit was named Sasaki Kojirou. The longsword in his arms was called Monohoshizao.
"So this is our next opponent?"
Tohsaka Rin asked as she saw Sasaki Kojirou appear, taking a few steps back.
"Your enemy later is the enemy Heroic Spirit named Medea, Caster class. You can hold her off just fine."
"You're kidding me, right? Let me fight an enemy Heroic Spirit? I'm a Master; I should be fighting the enemy Master."
Tohsaka Rin clearly didn't want to face Medea. Even with her improved strength, she still felt uneasy fighting a Heroic Spirit.
"Are you sure?"
A gentle smile appeared on Su Xiao's face.
"I... uh~, sure!"
"Fine then. You handle Kuzuki Souichirou, and Amu handles Medea."
"Leave it to me."
What Tohsaka Rin didn't know was that she had actually chosen the strongest one. That Master's close-combat ability could once go head-to-head with the former Saber-class Heroic Spirit and even knock them senseless. Kuzuki Souichirou, a homeroom teacher and former assassin, was extremely fierce after gaining magical enhancement.
Kuzuki Souichirou's faction was somewhat special. Medea, of the Caster class, originally had a different Master, not Kuzuki Souichirou.
Due to Medea's personality, her original Master died at her hands. Later, by chance, she met Kuzuki Souichirou. Because of his indifferent attitude toward life and death, the two reached a cooperation. Now, Medea was completely loyal to Kuzuki Souichirou and used her own abilities to summon Assassin (False), that is, Sasaki Kojirou.
This explained why Kuzuki Souichirou had two Heroic Spirits assisting him. In fact, Medea, as a Heroic Spirit, was the true Master of the team. She provided magical energy to Kuzuki Souichirou and Sasaki Kojirou, both of whom were warrior types responsible for front-line combat.
Amu and Tohsaka Rin walked past Sasaki Kojirou. The swordsman, holding his longsword in his arms, remained still. His swordsman's intuition told him that if he dared to get distracted now, his head would be severed in the next moment.
Clang.
Su Xiao drew the longsword from his waist and slowly walked up the stone steps. The night wind blew, sending a few withered leaves flying. One leaf drifted in front of him and suddenly shattered.
Seeing this, Sasaki Kojirou walked down the stone steps and finally stopped on a landing about two meters wide between the steps.
Sasaki Kojirou also drew his longsword, Monohoshizao, and casually tossed the scabbard aside.
"I have no name to speak of, but I have devoted my entire life to the blade. This sword... is called Monohoshizao."
Sasaki Kojirou spread his legs apart, lowered his center of gravity, and held the nearly one-and-a-half-meter-long sword horizontally beside his face.
His expression was solemn because he felt the pressure emanating from Su Xiao. It was like a ferocious beast crouching down, looking down at him from above, while he wasn't even as tall as the beast's calf. Their strength wasn't even on the same level.
Yet the corners of Sasaki Kojirou's mouth lifted. He had been summoned without any mission, just placed at the gates of Ryudoji Temple as a 'watchdog.'
Now, encountering a powerful enemy like Su Xiao, Sasaki Kojirou felt no fear. Instead, he wanted to try, to see if he could carve something off this 'ferocious beast.'
Su Xiao said nothing. The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, and Cyan Steel Shadow Energy surged along Dragon-Slaying Flash.
"Secret Sword, Swallow Reversal."
Sasaki Kojirou leaned forward and swung his longsword horizontally.
Humm~
Su Xiao's vision seemed to plunge into darkness. A purple slashing light appeared, and in an instant, this single slash split into three. The center points converged, slashing straight toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao's pupils rapidly contracted. This was three slashes delivered simultaneously. It wasn't something achievable by speed alone; it required achieving a 'multi-dimensional refraction phenomenon,' meaning striking three times at once. From this perspective, Su Xiao indeed couldn't do it.
The blade light of Swallow Reversal slashed toward Su Xiao. At the same time, he made a side slash. It wasn't flashy, nor did it have a domineering name, but the piercing sound of the blade cutting through the air was hair-raising.
Clang.
A pale blue slashing light cut through the purple slash of Swallow Reversal, pierced through Sasaki Kojirou's body, and then slashed into the dense forest behind him, felling large swaths of trees before finally disappearing from sight.
With a clink, the front half of Monohoshizao's blade fell to the ground. Sasaki Kojirou looked Su Xiao up and down, searching for any cut marks on his body. In the end, he was somewhat disappointed.
"How... did you cut through Swallow Reversal?"
Sasaki Kojirou let out a long breath. Blood spurted from his chest and abdomen. Holding the broken sword, he simply sat down on the ground.
"Multi-dimensional refraction phenomenon, at its core, is just a penetrating slash through dimensions or space. Rather than saying you struck three times simultaneously, it's more accurate to say you struck once in each different dimension, then folded them together in the same dimension. While it's not hard to understand, achieving it is as difficult as reaching the heavens. Besides, I only shattered two of the Swallow Reversal slashes. The third one did wound me."
Su Xiao raised his arm. The crystal layer beneath his arm shattered, faintly revealing traces of blood.
"Indeed, cutting you is much harder than cutting down a swallow."
As soon as Sasaki Kojirou finished speaking, a large amount of blood soaked through his clothes, dripping from the corners of his mouth.
"That vixen is very unlucky."
Sasaki Kojirou gradually dissipated, and a Legendary Chest fell to the ground. Sasaki Kojirou's Heroic Spirit attributes weren't strong; he was at the bottom tier. But his technique completely surpassed over 90% of Heroic Spirits. That was why his chest was Legendary rank—it was the power of technique. As the saying goes, a single thought can reach the divine.
Su Xiao picked up the chest on the ground and stepped into Ryudoji Temple. By now, the temple was quite lively.
Inside the courtyard of Ryudoji Temple.
Bang!
Tohsaka Rin slammed into the wall. She slumped to the ground, lowered her head, and spat out blood, her face full of pain. Not far in front of her stood a man in a suit, dressed like a homeroom teacher. The man was expressionless, his fists clenched tightly, with magical energy surging on them. This was Kuzuki Souichirou.
Tohsaka Rin gasped heavily and looked up at her opponent. As fellow Masters, her pride was deeply wounded. He had simply beaten her senseless, to the point where she doubted her own existence.