Meanwhile, in another city, the battle between Shirou Emiya and Sabrac had yet to conclude.
Roaring dark-red flames engulfed Shirou completely, but the protective ring, Azure, formed an impenetrable barrier, allowing Shirou to completely ignore the scorching firestorm. Now, he only had to focus on fending off the deadly tempest of blades.
At the brink of being consumed, Shirou had suddenly remembered the ring worn by Friagne, which could nullify flames, and quickly projected it at the critical moment.
With Shirou's keen eyesight, he had clearly observed Friagne falling from the sky earlier, noticing especially the glowing ring on his finger when Sydonay wrapped Friagne in fire. It was then Shirou had completed the ring's analysis, fully grasping its function.
But Sabrac's ambush had been so sudden, Shirou didn't even have time to project Azure. Wave after wave of deadly attacks overwhelmed him, forcing him to rely first on the more familiar Incursio Armor, temporarily overlooking the flame-nullifying ring.
This situation is dire.
Facing the formidable Sabrac, Shirou's mind raced frantically.
Should I run?
The situation at hand was no longer something Shirou could handle. Not to mention the four Crimson Denizens watching leisurely from the sidelines—
Sabrac alone was already beyond Shirou's capability to defeat.
Moreover, their ongoing battle would only lead to further destruction of buildings and streets—more innocent humans slain as collateral damage by these chaotic, indiscriminate attacks.
Even setting aside whether Shirou could somehow revive those people, he wasn't a Flame Haze. He couldn't even sense the Power of Existence, let alone repair the destruction caused by their fight.
No matter how he considered it, retreat seemed the most rational choice.
No. It's precisely because of this that I can't retreat now.
Such destruction—would these Crimson Denizens willingly spend their own Power of Existence to repair it?
Would they resurrect those who'd already died?
Impossible. Clearly impossible.
If Shirou fled now and the Fūzetsu lifted, all the destruction wrought would become an unchangeable fact, irreversibly etched into reality.
He couldn't allow such a thing. Those who died as Torches—at least Shirou could still fight to protect their fading existence.
But corpses—piled up without the Holy Grail's miraculous existence—Shirou had no way to save them in this world.
Boom!
Before Shirou, the roaring wave of dark-red flames erupted once more, violently bursting outward in all directions with tremendous destructive force.
The very air trembled as if burning.
Towering waves of fierce crimson flames surged, once again swallowing the area in a molten torrent. Sabrac stood upon the surging inferno, riding the waves of fire straight toward Shirou.
Without the threat of flames, the oppressive feeling of facing Sabrac lessened somewhat.
At least now Shirou had a slight chance to catch his breath amid this relentless battle. He could focus solely on countering the endless storm of blades.
"[TRACE—ON]!"
A perfectly standard-looking katana appeared beside Shirou. In midair, it swiftly spun around and shot straight at Sabrac.
Though less powerful than an arrow fired from Shirou's bow, the speed behind it was not to be underestimated.
A normal human could hardly dodge such an attack.
But for Sabrac, a Crimson Lord famed even among the strongest Denizens of the present age, it was merely a toy casually thrown by a child.
Just like Shirou's earlier sword-arrows, Sabrac manipulated his flames to engulf the incoming katana.
But then—
Whoosh!
As if terrified, the flames recoiled sharply. At the moment before contact, a burst of blue radiance emerged from the katana's hilt.
Instantly activated, the barrier repelled all flames, leaving only the spinning storm of swords.
Clearly, Sabrac had never realized the Treasure Tools Shirou wielded could be endlessly replicated.
By basic common sense, Sabrac naturally assumed Shirou couldn't possibly possess multiple copies of a single Treasure Tool.
Besides, most of Shirou's weapons were completely unfamiliar to him—the mysterious threads or the chain-wrapped shortsword that turned into armor.
Treasure Tools that could self-replicate were not unheard of. Thus, even the other Crimson Denizens present, including Friagne who'd already faced Shirou, initially assumed the armor was simply a self-duplicating Treasure Tool.
Only when Shirou pulled out unique Treasure Tools like Azure did they realize just how unfathomable this human truly was.
Sabrac didn't know Friagne carried Azure. After all, who would openly reveal the nature of their own Treasure Tools?
Moreover, Sabrac himself never bothered to collect intelligence on other Crimson Lords. Only Denizens who actively gathered intel would know what Treasure Tools Friagne possessed.
For instance, Sydonay, who never worried from the beginning whether his flames could harm Friagne, clearly knew this secret.
Sabrac, however, remained oblivious. He was familiar with Azure itself but logically could never imagine that a second Azure might exist.
Yet Shirou himself knew well this weakly launched attack couldn't penetrate the defensive barrier formed by the wall of blades.
His true goal was simply to close the distance.
"[BROKEN PHANTASM]!"
BOOM—!
An explosion burst forth again, this time weaker, like a mere firecracker going off right before Sabrac.
Of course, Sabrac didn't pause just because this single sword resisted his flames.
Even the previous, more intense explosion hadn't sufficed to breach his defense. At worst, he'd receive only minor wounds—something Sabrac didn't mind at all.
Moreover, even if Shirou somehow breached his defenses and killed him again—
"!"
Suddenly, Sabrac felt an overwhelming wave of weakness wash over him. Before he could react, he toppled heavily to the ground. Black lines swiftly crawled across his body, spreading rapidly over his form.
Within seconds, the sinister, imposing man lay utterly lifeless.
Yet Shirou didn't spare a glance at the fallen body below. His instincts screamed that this man wasn't truly dead but hiding somewhere unseen, preparing a fatal strike.
Continuing this meaningless struggle would only deplete Shirou's strength, ending in his death at these Crimson Lords' hands.
Shirou beat his wings fiercely, hurtling through the air at incredible speed straight toward Friagne's position.
He still had one thing left to confirm:
Is it really impossible for anyone but a Flame Haze to permanently kill a Crimson Lord?
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