Chapter 36: Misunderstood, We Were Just Passing By
In the forest at the foot of Liudong Temple, Emiya Shirou and Emiya the Heroic Spirit were swiftly moving through the woods. Suddenly, Emiya the Heroic Spirit stopped.
"Stop."
Emiya the Heroic Spirit spoke, his gaze sweeping across the forest. Beside him, Emiya Shirou looked utterly confused.
"As expected of Red A. Despite Emiya Shirou's magical talent, he still maintains such strong vigilance."
A blond-haired youth leaped down from a tree. He wore a metal earring on his right earlobe and was dressed somewhat sloppily.
"Don't waste words with them. C-Mei and the People's Teacher probably can't hold off that monster for long. Even if we add Kojiro, it's just feeding the monster World Source."
Footsteps sounded as a little girl appeared. She wore a hood and carried a staff that resembled an electric baton. Indeed, judging by its fluctuations, this was indeed a lightning-element staff with excellent performance—at least Gold quality. For ordinary fourth-rank contractors, Gold equipment was the mainstream; Legendary was rare and hard to come by.
"Good news is these two aren't strong. Bad news is the monster has already come down the mountain."
A voice came from the shadows. The speaker didn't reveal themselves, but from their words, they were likely a Perception-type.
"We've hidden this long; we can only bet big this time. This is a plot protagonist. Killing him won't trigger world rejection. Move out."
The team leader, hidden behind a tree, gave the order. As soon as he spoke, the blond youth charged at Emiya the Heroic Spirit.
Just then, a figure appeared out of thin air near Emiya the Heroic Spirit—Bubu Wang, who had emerged from stealth. The moment it appeared, the blond youth slammed on the brakes, because he received a truly terrifying notification.
[Warning: Contractor is attempting to become hostile to the faction of the holder of the 'Team Slayer' title. Please ensure your party size is at least 50 or more.]
[Warning: The 'Team Slayer' title is a special title obtained after killing the leader of a large-scale adventure group. Please carefully consider whether to oppose this holder.]
[Warning: The holder of the 'Team Slayer' title is approaching at high speed. 1150 meters, 973 meters, 755 meters, 429 meters. Warning: The holder of the 'Team Slayer' title has entered within 500 meters. Estimated arrival in 2-3 seconds. Please make a careful decision.]
...
Seeing these three blood-red warnings from Reincarnation Paradise, the blond youth nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. This was way too terrifying.
Boom!
An explosion rang out beside the blond youth. The spreading shockwave and dust forced him back two steps, one hand shielding his face.
When the dust cleared somewhat, the blond youth saw a man in a long black leather coat holding a sharp blade standing not far away. The ground around the man was cracked in a spiderweb pattern from the high-impact collision.
"Heh, heh, misunderstanding. I just came to watch the fun. No other intentions."
The blond youth slightly raised his arm and slowly backed away. In the past, he had been a fierce lone wolf, but unfortunately, in the Holy Grail World, the Blood Gate Adventurers had beaten him down like a sick dog. Now, it seemed someone even more ruthless than Blood Gate had arrived. The blond youth, being in the Holy Grail World, naturally knew something about Blood Gate's fate.
Su Xiao just stared at the blond youth. Although he could kill him in a short time, doing so was clearly pointless. Given the Scarlet Card drop rate in the Holy Grail World, fighting contractors was actually a bit of a loss.
Seeming to realize Su Xiao had no intention of attacking, the blond youth retreated even faster and soon disappeared into the forest. As for his temporary teammates, they had already fled far away.
"This title seems pretty good."
Su Xiao muttered, then turned his gaze to Emiya Shirou and Emiya the Heroic Spirit. Earlier, when he learned that Bubu Wang had tracked down these two, Su Xiao decided to eliminate them first. Otherwise, Emiya the Heroic Spirit would keep coming to ambush him.
Seeing Su Xiao appear, Emiya Shirou showed no fear. Putting everything else aside, his courage alone was something ordinary people lacked.
"Why must the Holy Grail War involve mutual slaughter, summoning deceased Heroic Spirits to fight each other? Letting those dead spirits relive their past failures and regrets."
Although Emiya Shirou didn't fully understand the Holy Grail War, he clearly disapproved of this behavior.
Su Xiao said nothing. In reality, summoning Heroic Spirits to fight each other was merely to satisfy the ambitions of mages. Those 'scholars' who delved into magic and mana didn't care at all about the Heroic Spirits' feelings. Most traditional mages treated Heroic Spirits as mere familiars.
"Saber, as..."
Clang!
Before Emiya Shirou could finish, blade aura swept across. Su Xiao had no habit of lecturing others, nor would he listen to the nonsense of those on different sides. After all, everyone had different ideals.
Ding, ding, ding...
Blade light flashed. The short swords in Emiya the Heroic Spirit's hands broke one after another. The weapons he manifested were clearly no match for the blade aura of Dragon-Slaying Flash.
With a bang, mud splashed beneath Su Xiao's feet. The next moment, he appeared before Emiya the Heroic Spirit, his long blade cutting a silver arc toward the latter's neck. This was Su Xiao's personal habit—aiming for the enemy's head with his first strike in battle.
"Projection, begin."
Emiya the Heroic Spirit spoke softly. Several Noble Phantasms appeared above him, a move very similar to Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.
Several sword-shaped Noble Phantasms appeared and descended from above Su Xiao. If Su Xiao continued his slash, he could definitely sever Emiya the Heroic Spirit's head, but he would also be wounded by those Noble Phantasms, which were all of considerable rank. Emiya the Heroic Spirit's decision was decisive. He knew the gap in raw strength between himself and Su Xiao, so he needed to compensate with combat intelligence.
Su Xiao's blade slashed across Emiya the Heroic Spirit's neck. At the same time, six sword-shaped Noble Phantasms struck Su Xiao, piercing his head, chest, and abdomen.
Swish! The Noble Phantasms embedded into the ground. Something unexpected happened to Emiya the Heroic Spirit: although Su Xiao's slash hit his neck, he was completely unharmed.
Su Xiao twisted his blade. The long sword that had just slashed across Emiya the Heroic Spirit's neck flipped, cutting back toward it in a reverse edge.
A few drops of blood splattered. Only then did Emiya the Heroic Spirit understand what had happened. When Su Xiao had slashed earlier, he had simultaneously phased through space. That was why neither could harm the other.
Blood sprayed from Emiya the Heroic Spirit's throat. Su Xiao kicked him squarely in the abdomen. By now, Emiya the Heroic Spirit could no longer feel pain. His vision gradually went dark, and blue smoke enveloped him.
"Projection, synchronize."
Using almost the same technique, a short sword appeared in Emiya Shirou's hand. As Emiya the Heroic Spirit fell, he used the latter's body as cover to successfully close in on Su Xiao.
The short sword slashed toward Su Xiao's chest. Clearly, Emiya Shirou wasn't accustomed to directly striking an enemy's vital points. This wasn't soft-heartedness in battle but a lack of the concept of aiming for vitals in the first place.
The short sword came in. If Su Xiao had been weakened by 95% or more, Emiya Shirou might have succeeded.
Boom!
A frost battle hammer smashed into Emiya Shirou's back, driving him into the ground. Blood splattered like blooming flowers.
[You have killed Emiya Shirou (Heroic Spirit).]
[Your Servant has killed the plot protagonist, Emiya Shirou.]
[Because the Hunter has killed Emiya Shirou (Heroic Spirit, Future) and Emiya Shirou (Present) in quick succession, the rewards for both will be calculated together and increased by an additional 30%.]
[You have obtained 15% World Source.]
[You have obtained a Treasure Chest: Epic (1%).]
[Achievement Quest: Sky-Shattering Storm completion +20% (Currently at 75%, can be completed. If completed immediately, you will receive the minimum reward).]