Cyan-colored bolts of lightning thundered around Shirou, the crackles deafening the ears.
He could do it.
He could summon those two swords.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Shirou let out a shout, raising his hands, projecting the weapons he had seen Archer use dozens of times.
As if he were holding thunder itself, the cyan bolts of lightning began taking definite shapes.
In the next moment, those crackling shapes began glowing white and black.
In Shirou's left hand, the sword Kanshou burned black, while Bakuya, its twin sister, radiated pristine whiteness.
Watching this happen from a few feet away, Black frowned.
Things were happening exactly as the original Storyline so far.
Then why… They, why was he having these odd feelings?! It was as if he had just had breakfast and then someone told him it was poisoned. The poison hadn't affected him yet, but now he couldn't help but keep thinking about it.
As the AI and Lucky Intuitions found no answer to these odd feelings, Black stepped forward.
This was how far he had been willing to push Shirou, to begin with. He wanted to see Shirou using his Projection Magic to materialize swords, recording it for Ad Infinitum to study later.
Now that Black had already done that, he had no intention of sticking to the original Storyline, where Kizuki and Medea had run away.
Black — wanted to cripple Shirou right here and now; not physically, but magically.
Shirou Emiya lacked stable Magic Circuits. He could only do Reinforcement and Projection Magic. To reach the level of projecting Reality Marble — Unlimited Blade Works — he would need to borrow Mana from Rin later.
Black didn't want that to happen.
It was better to completely cripple the unstable Magic Circuits within Shirou now when Rin and others didn't know about his specialty. Then, even if he borrowed Rin's entire Magic Crest, he wouldn't be able to cast the Reality Marble.
And as this wouldn't kill Shirou, Black had no intention of holding back.
Projecting Archer's swords didn't make Shirou stronger. He was still an average Magi, with human limits. At this stage, he couldn't possibly create weapons strong enough to injure him, anyway.
Or… so Black thought as he boomed toward Shirou, a yellow stroke glowing on his forehead as he used Ancient Magical Script.
With a hiss, a mass of black, cursed energy coiled itself around Black's fists.
Medea had already shared in detail a version of this curse that could shatter the Magic Circuits from within, without leaving any clue.
On the other side, seeing Black coming at him, Shirou struggled to take a stance.
Dream was still a dream.
The reality of holding these weapons was different altogether.
Surprisingly, going against the original Storyline himself, Shirou instantly thought of the problem of his body being much weaker than the weapons he held.
What to do… Shirou asked himself, his arms shaking. How to…
Black's hand blurred.
At this point, he had all the Buffs piled on, other than Venom and Selfless Breathing.
Even against a strengthened Heroic Spirit like Saber, he wouldn't come out as a loser. If he hadn't held back in the last few punches, then he would have accidentally killed Shirou, attracting Timeline's ire.
So, when Black punched, he wasn't expecting to be countered at all.
Tink!
With the very first sound, Black knew something had gone terribly wrong.
Tink-Tank!!
The next two sounds settled the unknown feeling he had been having even deeper.
Tink-Tank-Tink-Boooooooooooom!!!
Shirou's swords countered Black's every single punch, leaving behind multicolored afterimages between them.
A shocked expression planted itself on Black's face as he looked at Shirou — noticing the ancientness the Character's eyes held for the very first time.
How… Black wondered, gobsmacked, the AI scanning Shirou's body.
And suddenly, as if it chanced upon the most ridiculous data after arriving in this timeline, it beeped with an intense, exciting urgency.
[… Bones… Flesh… Blood…] The AI scanned. [Everything is made up of swords…]
"Haaaaaaaaaa!" Shirou fired himself toward Black.
A bang rang out as the earth under Shirou's feet caved in, his speed surpassing all human limits, reaching the realm of Servants.
A white blur trailed as Shirou hacked.
Black's eyes had gained a hard look of disbelief. And as he saw confidence flashing across Shirou's face, the disbelief turned into — flatness, lacking all humor.
Renewal Taekwondo —
Shirou's eyes widened as the sword brushed past Black as if the entire world had shifted, making him miss.
And then, something hit him…
… like the tip of a mountain pressing into his stomach.
— Recoilless Front Kick!!
Booooooooooooooom!!!
Shirou's entire back caved, just like before.
Bile, from the pits of his stomach, came frothing out of his mouth.
As the mountain's tip was pulled back, Shirou fell, his knees striking the earth with a thud, the two swords vanishing from his hands.
One moment… He was one moment away from giving in to the blackness lingering in the corner of his eyes.
On top of him, standing tall, was Black… beyond stunned, his eyes widening as they had never before. He… is still conscious?!
"Oi… Oi… Oi…" Black asked under his breath, swaths of red mist rising off his body. "What did you do… Zelretch?!"
Nothing else made sense to Black.
Only He could push things so far — creating this abomination.
With his knees wobbling, the Abomination stood up, blood, saliva, and vomit seeping out from the corner of his mouth.
Black took a stance, all the red mist rushing to his right leg.
Shirou Emiya gritted his teeth harder, remembering another weapon… a sword… in the shape of a coiled arrow.
Renewal Taekwondo —
Trace On —
"STOP!" Sakura came rushing in, placing herself between them, her eyes going red with tears. "Just… stop it! Please…"
Black frowned.
He was about to throw her away, when…
…
[
Contestant Kai Stormborn, you have been affected by a Curse
Effect: Luck -40
Time Limit: 1 minute
…
Luck: 5
]
…
Ba-dump!
The Grail Heart within Black thumped loudly, as if something was trying to burst out, pushing its fleshly walls.
In the next moment, to everyone's surprise, Black clenched his chest and coughed out a mouthful of blood —
— staining Sakura's white gown bloody red!
*****************
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