"Guh…!"
The tremendous force drew a muffled groan from Sydonay.
Beside him, Friagne barely managed to react in time, rapidly manipulating the pale-white flames around him into a volley of playing cards that shot toward Shirou Emiya.
At this close range, Shirou Emiya had no chance of dodging.
Boom—!
Crimson lightning erupted from Shirou Emiya without warning. The playing cards, racing toward him, were instantly devoured by the red lightning as if they were nothing but ordinary poker cards, swallowed before they could even explode.
In the next instant, a blade flashed silently. The terrifying strength behind it directly knocked Sydonay away from Shirou Emiya's side.
A lightning-fast slash—before anyone could even react—traced a perfect arc through the air, smoothly cutting through Friagne's body like unhindered moonlight.
Shlick—!
With crystal clarity, the sound of slicing flesh rang out. Pale-white flames, symbolic of blood, splattered violently in all directions.
Unable to dodge, unable to resist, Friagne's entire body split cleanly in two from the head down.
"Aaaaaargh!"
Friagne let out a scream of agony.
"I cannot accept this—I refuse to accept this!"
Pale flames ignited on his body, consuming him at terrifying speed until nothing remained.
Thus ended a Crimson Lord who had once given Flame Hazes incredible trouble: without fanfare, without resistance—cut down in a single stroke by Shirou Emiya, dissipating into pure Power of Existence that scattered into the surroundings.
In the instant Shirou struck, a doll emerged from Friagne's collar, desperately attempting to block the slash.
But it was mercilessly cleaved in two along with Friagne himself.
"His power—it's grown even stronger!"
Sydonay roared in frustration. The steel spear in his hands spun violently like a windmill, cloaked in murky violet flames. Carrying unmatched force, it sliced ferociously toward Shirou Emiya, shattering and exploding the air itself along its path.
Clang!
A heavy metallic collision resounded. Shirou Emiya—his body enveloped by crimson lightning—met the powerful strike head-on with the massive sword in his grip, sparks scattering in brilliant bursts from the overwhelming impact.
Yet despite the terrifying blow, despite the mountain-splitting force, Shirou Emiya stood unmoved before Sydonay.
"Raaaaaaaaaaahhhh—!"
Without waiting for Shirou Emiya's response, Sydonay erupted in another earth-shaking roar. The arm holding his spear swelled grotesquely, muscles bulging until it transformed into a monstrously huge limb brimming with raw power.
BOOM—!
Under such tremendous strength, the steel spear scraped along the crimson knightly sword, sparking wildly and shrieking harshly. Finally, it began forcing Shirou Emiya's sword backward inch by inch.
Mana Burst—a skill Shirou Emiya should never have possessed.
Shirou Emiya couldn't even properly use Reinforcement Magecraft, let alone such an advanced manipulation of magical energy—a unique skill normally possessed only by Servants.
But the sword in Shirou Emiya's grasp was the Noble Phantasm wielded by Mordred: Clarent.
Unlike Artoria and other Servants whose inherent skill, Mana Burst, functioned differently, Mordred's Clarent—a sword meant only for kings—had its rank reduced by one when she wielded it, losing the original bonuses associated with royal authority.
However, the sword's intrinsic Amplification capability was never lost. Mordred channeled her hateful mana into the sword, amplified it, and unleashed it.
Thus, Mordred's Mana Burst was achieved by the amplification granted through her sword.
To further illustrate, Mordred's Noble Phantasm Clarent Blood Arthur was itself a special application of Mana Burst, the released crimson lightning twisted by amplified resentment toward her own father.
Precisely for this reason, Shirou Emiya could not employ Mana Burst with the projected Caliburn, yet could unleash it through his projection of Clarent.
Shirou Emiya could only read information regarding swordsmanship from his projections. Artoria Pendragon required no weapon to unleash Mana Burst, so naturally Shirou Emiya knew nothing of performing such a skill independently.
But Mordred's Mana Burst relied explicitly upon her sword. Thus, Shirou Emiya could, just like Mordred, use Clarent to activate Mana Burst.
Mana Burst allowed weapons—or even one's physical body—to be infused with mana and instantly release it, greatly enhancing capabilities.
It was precisely because of Mana Burst's dramatic enhancement that Artoria, despite her slender frame, could directly confront a monstrous being like Berserker.
Unable to strengthen himself with Reinforcement Magecraft, Shirou Emiya now strengthened himself through another, far more potent method.
And the combined effect of Mana Burst + Incursio Armor + Incursio Armor far exceeded a simple arithmetic of 1+1+1=3.
At this moment, Shirou Emiya had taken only mere seconds to kill Friagne.
Originally, Shirou Emiya couldn't sustain the simultaneous activation of two Incursio Armors for long, but Mana Burst significantly toughened his body, buying him a precious few extra seconds.
And Shirou Emiya needed those extra few seconds—to resolve everything he possibly could.
BOOM———!
Violent, crimson lightning erupted from Shirou Emiya's body.
Unimaginable power surged from his hands.
Clang——!
In a thunderous collision, Shirou Emiya suddenly shook his greatsword, instantly repelling the heavy spear that had previously pinned him down.
Sydonay rapidly retreated backward, his body thrown back by the recoil.
Shirou Emiya—who had already given him considerable trouble—now radiated a pressure strong enough to completely overwhelm him.
This was something Sydonay had never imagined—something he never dared to imagine.
A mere human being, actually overpowering him in strength?
This was no joke.
BOOM!
The ground behind Shirou Emiya exploded once more, unleashing a ring of wild wind. Like actual lightning, he charged straight toward Sydonay.
Though, to Sydonay, Shirou Emiya's speed had reached terrifying levels—surpassing even the speed of sound—in Achilles' eyes, such speed would merely be a snail's crawl.
Gritting his teeth, Sydonay raised his spear with difficulty, receiving the unbelievably heavy strike reverberating through his weapon.
Is he… really human?
---
T/N: WOOOOOO LETS GO MANA BURSTTTT I LOVE MANA BURSTTT
T/N2: holy shit guys, umm we are at chapter 1000+ in patreon... im gonna lower the powerstones needed for this :SOB:
bonus chaps
50 stones → 1 bonus chap
100 stones → 2 bonus chaps
150 stones → 3 bonus chaps
and so on :3
100+ new chaps every week across all my TLs on the P website :)
hehe every 100 followers on either instagram or twitter = 5 bonus chaps...?
(for all ongoing tls)
website: wisetl.com
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