Cursed Energy gathered at Ryu's head.
His hair, styled like a cannon muzzle, fired off blasts of Cursed Energy like an actual cannon.
Artoria raised her sword to block.
With the dual effects of Magic Resistance and Mana Burst, Ryu's cannon fire was significantly weakened.
Artoria exerted strength with her hand and deflected the shot.
Explosions erupted again and again around her.
'Is this guy helping me clear out the Cursed Spirits?'
Artoria noticed that Ryu was different from Takako, who had just ruthlessly attacked her.
Ryu still carried a bit of chivalry.
"Let me eat my fill, Saber!" Ryu shouted, brimming with excitement.
A powerful blast of cannon fire surged toward Artoria.
Mana Burst.
Thanks to Ryu's indiscriminate cannon fire wiping out many of the surrounding Cursed Spirits, Artoria could now engage in a cannon battle as he wished.
Cannon fire from both sides collided in the air.
'This guy's charge-up time is even shorter than mine, yet he can suppress my blasts?'
Ryu was surprised by Artoria's strength, and a smile of excitement spread across his face.
Both poured more power into their cannon fire at the same time.
The golden energy beam quickly overwhelmed Ryu's Cursed Energy blast.
The two faced each other.
"Did you... often go hungry during your lifetime?"
It was a strange question to ask on a battlefield, but Artoria still voiced it.
"Huh?" Ryu hadn't expected that, but he answered seriously.
"I can't say often, but I never truly ate my fill, not even once."
He pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette.
"My first life was actually pretty good. I met a good woman, had a decent family, and fought spirited opponents…"
"That kind of life was good, but if I had to name one regret…"
Ryu exhaled a ring of smoke.
"The fullest I ever ate in my first life was maybe eight-tenths full, you know?"
A flicker of nostalgia passed through his eyes.
"People around me used to say, 'You've got it all, what more could you want?' But that feeling of being neither here nor there... that's the worst, Saber."
He held up the cigarette toward Artoria.
"Just like this thing, there's a bit of sweetness at the end, but there was no such sweetness in my life."
He looked at her directly.
"I see, I understand you," Artoria nodded sincerely.
"Eh? You too?"
Ryu looked surprised. In his first life, everyone had always looked at him like, "What are you even complaining about?"
This was the first time someone said they understood him.
"It was also difficult for me to ever eat my fill during my lifetime. So I understand."
Artoria nodded solemnly.
Her life had been during an age of war and famine.
Even as king, it was rare for her to truly satisfy her hunger.
Not to mention, British cuisine had never been appetizing to begin with. Many things were just hard to stomach.
This was also why, after being summoned, Artoria became obsessed with food, like someone who could never be satisfied.
Ryu looked at her serious expression and was taken aback, then became visibly excited.
'Yeah, someone this strong must have been even lonelier than me in her lifetime. I couldn't find an opponent who could make me fight to my heart's content, let alone her.'
In this moment, Ryu felt like he'd found a kindred spirit.
Two people, seemingly out of sync, connected over the shared experience of "never eating their fill."
"Now, let's go all out!" Ryu looked at her with burning eagerness.
'Here it comes.'
Artoria's eyes sharpened. She raised her Holy Sword horizontally.
Bang.
Ryu's fist slammed into the blade.
Blood ran down from his knuckles.
Ryu shifted his posture, using his height to twist his body and bring down an elbow strike toward Artoria's head.
She raised her right arm and blocked it.
'So solid... Hard to believe that kind of power is coming from such a young-looking girl.'
Ryu was shocked.
Artoria swung her sword with her left hand. Ryu quickly leaped back to create distance.
He had already experienced how sharp the Holy Sword was.
His fists were large—easily the size of stew pots.
That punch earlier had only grazed the blade with his index and pinky fingers, and both were already badly injured.
So Ryu knew, more than anyone, that getting cut by that sword was absolutely not an option.
Artoria raised her sword and launched an aggressive assault.
Ryu continued searching for chances to counterattack, using the reach advantage provided by his height.
From time to time, he would also fire spontaneous blasts of Cursed Energy.
The aftershocks of their battle wiped out every Cursed Spirit that dared approach.
In the sky.
Takako, who had been struggling for a long time but still couldn't shake off Qiongqi, finally chose to face her opponent head-on.
She tucked in her legs to minimize her exposed area.
One hand in front, one behind, she twisted the surrounding space.
By reducing her target size, she could fully shield herself using her technique and slightly lower her Cursed Energy output.
She hurled the storm back toward Qiongqi.
Qiongqi responded by spitting wind bullets, dispersing the storm.
Takako used the chance to get above her opponent, reaching out with both hands to grab and restrain Qiongqi.
Suddenly, a high-pressure jet of water shot up from the ground, forcing Takako to abandon her plan to seriously injure Qiongqi with Ugyo Rodan.
She glared at Eichi, who stood on the ground with his hands pressed together.
'It's true that the best way to deal with a Shikigami user is to go after the user directly, but...'
Her gaze shifted to Qiongqi, still locked in a fight with her.
Then she looked toward the shadow behind Eichi, from which countless Rabbit Escape figures continued to emerge.
Takako couldn't shake the fear that if she rushed him, a Mahoraga might suddenly jump out of the shadows and strike her with a sword.
After all, she'd once 'communicated' with Mahoraga via a beatdown and ended up with dozens of broken bones.
That had left some deep psychological trauma.
'No, I can't shake it.'
Qiongqi caught her again.
'This Shikigami's aerial speed is faster than mine. This won't do. I need to take a gamble.'
Her Cursed Energy suddenly exploded outward.
Then she plummeted straight down.
All the Cursed Spirits under Tamamo-no-Mae's command that were ordered to obey Takako began converging toward her position.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)