"Target has defeated Speeding Assault! I repeat, the target has defeated Speeding Assault! All soldiers proceed immediately to capture the fugitive—repeat, proceed immediately!"
The large-eared woman anxiously shouted orders. Who could have imagined that a prisoner locked up on the fifth basement level could defeat Speeding Assault so quickly?
After defeating Toby, Shirou didn't pause. Picking up the spear he'd tossed aside earlier, he sprinted down the corridor.
Normally, such intense exertion should have drastically worsened the effects of the drugs in Shirou's body. Yet in reality, those drugs had mostly run their course, leaving only residual weakness behind.
Rather than draining him further, the fierce battle had even restored some of Shirou's physical strength.
BOOM—!
With a swift sweep of his spear, Shirou knocked a masked, muscular man flying into a wall.
As Shirou navigated the winding passages, he'd encountered countless guards like this—mindless, monstrous creations devoid of any self-awareness.
Each one possessed incredible strength, capable of fighting against a hundred ordinary Imperial soldiers single-handedly. Worse, they felt no pain: even impaling them with his spear did nothing to slow their relentless attacks.
These beings were practically made for war.
Along the corridors, Shirou saw severed limbs and heads scattered about. This was less a prison and more a horrifying laboratory.
Crash—!
Abruptly halting, Shirou regained some of his strength. Without hesitation, he spun and charged directly upwards, smashing through the ceiling.
His movements weren't only about evading pursuit; more importantly, he'd been buying time for the remaining drugs in his system to dissipate.
"He's here!"
A flash of silver light streaked through the air. The moment Shirou burst through the floor, a giant pair of scissors closed in on his neck.
The woman with enormous ears had continuously monitored Shirou's every movement. She was fully aware of his exact location, prepared for his ability to breach floors at any moment.
Had Shirou been any slower, the countless infantry units would already have encircled him.
"[Extase: Shears of Creation and Destruction]—before them, you're as good as naked!"
As he declared, the scissor-like weapon sliced effortlessly through Shirou's neck guard, completely bypassing Incursio's formidable defenses.
"[Trace—On]!"
In such a critical moment, Shirou disregarded the immense mana cost, frantically analyzing the weapon before him.
Clang—!
Two identical pairs of scissors collided violently, momentarily stunning the short, bearded man wielding the original.
This fleeting pause gave Shirou enough breathing room to pull back rapidly, narrowly avoiding being beheaded outright.
Yet in that brief moment, the infantry units had already closed in, surrounding Shirou from all sides.
So fast!
Shirou's eyes narrowed sharply. It felt as if his every move had been anticipated. Even one floor below, he'd sensed their attempts to encircle him. Had he been less alert, he would have already been trapped below.
But even after breaking through, he'd stumbled straight into another ambush.
BANG!
With an explosive burst, Shirou shattered the floor beneath him and charged forward, his figure becoming a mere blur. Spear in one hand and the reverse-blade katana in the other, he braced himself.
There's no choice now but to fight my way through!
"[Sword Breathing—Spear Form: Lion's Frenzy]!"
Countless arcs of silver blade-light intermingled with flashes of crimson spear-thrusts erupted around Shirou.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Like a reincarnated legendary warrior charging into enemy ranks, Shirou wielded both spear and sword with flawless coordination. At mid-range, the spear; at close range, the blade—both worked in seamless harmony.
In the chaos, countless infantry soldiers were sent flying by his spear, their limbs cleanly severed by his sword. Yet the crowd held more than just infantry units.
"Take a taste of my Teigu!"
With a sickening slicing sound, the scissors effortlessly slashed through Shirou's armor, drawing a bright red line across his chest.
But no blood poured forth—Shirou instantly halted the bleeding using his breathing techniques. The battle ahead would only grow more intense. Allowing himself to bleed continuously would be a critical mistake.
The stout, bearded man who wielded the scissors didn't have frightening speed; instead, he'd attacked sneakily while Shirou was preoccupied with the infantry.
An open attack could be blocked, but a hidden ambush was harder to anticipate. Shirou had reacted immediately, yet the narrow corridor left no room for dodging. He could only minimize the damage.
Gritting his teeth, Shirou thrust the spear sharply into the man's abdomen.
Clang—!
But all he heard was the metallic clash of steel against steel; the spear stopped cold at the man's stomach.
"Too bad—you can't break through my defenses!" the man laughed arrogantly, confident that Shirou couldn't harm him. He swung his scissors wildly, forcing Shirou into a defensive retreat.
It was precisely like Shirou's earlier fight against Toby: just as Toby couldn't penetrate Shirou's armor, Shirou now faced an opponent he couldn't harm.
Shirou's gaze suddenly sharpened. He swiftly dropped into a crouch, kicking hard against the wall behind him, propelling himself forward like a bullet.
BOOM—!
The infantry soldiers were violently thrown aside by the sheer force of Shirou's charge. With incredible speed, Shirou grasped a pair of identical scissors embedded in the wall—exactly the same as his enemy's.
To defeat him, isn't there a perfect weapon right here in front of me?
"Hah! Just a fake!" scoffed the stout man, utterly unconcerned. His weapon was a genuine Teigu; even the Empire nowadays could only produce Shingu. Why would he fear a mere counterfeit?
Shhk—!
Blood sprayed into the air as Shirou effortlessly plunged the replicated scissors deep into the man's abdomen.
"This... this can't be! How can a fake break through my defense?!"
Shock and disbelief filled the man's face.
But in reality, if Shirou hadn't been cornered and forced into such a tight space, this opponent wouldn't have had any chance to approach him in the first place.
"Who said a fake can't surpass the original?"
Those were the last words the man heard before collapsing unconscious into a pool of his own blood.