"We can't stop him!"
Despair crept into the voice of the green-haired woman with large ears as she listened to the constant commotion below. Within this prison, nothing remained capable of stopping Emiya Shirou.
Numbers alone meant nothing before Shirou's overwhelming combat power. Even if she tried to pile bodies upon him, there simply weren't enough to subdue someone like him.
Although the Empire had many prisoners, Dr. Stylish wasn't the only one requiring experimental subjects; many in the Empire had similar needs. Failures were inevitable along the path of scientific exploration.
Moreover, Dr. Stylish had taken most of the infantry units away. The base now housed only a few hundred of them.
Those left behind had suffered severe injuries—crushed into walls, limbs broken, rendered immobile by Shirou's ruthless spear strikes and sword cuts. Unless he completely disabled these modified humans, they would relentlessly cling to him.
To escape, Shirou had no choice but to incapacitate them completely.
Bang—!
"What's going on?!"
The door behind the woman slammed open, revealing a nervous-looking girl with bright orange hair.
"Seryu? Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be with the Jaegers?"
The woman stared at the unexpected visitor in shock.
"I came looking for Dr. Stylish to perform maintenance on my weapons. He wasn't with the Jaegers, so I came here," Seryu explained quickly. "Where's General Esdeath?"
With the prisoner about to break out, if they didn't quickly find Dr. Stylish and General Esdeath, Emiya Shirou would soon breach the prison and escape.
"I don't know. I couldn't find General Esdeath either. According to Wave and the others, Dr. Stylish seemed to have discovered something. He and General Esdeath went off investigating—probably hunting down another group of lawless criminals, like those bandits we eliminated a few days ago."
"But what's happening here exactly? I kept feeling tremors, and neither Eye nor Nose are around."
Seryu didn't have ears as sensitive as hers; she had no idea what was happening below, assuming instead that Dr. Stylish was simply creating more soldiers. Nonetheless, gathering intelligence was necessary. This was not just Dr. Stylish's lab—it was also a prison for dangerous criminals.
"Dr. Stylish took Eye and Nose with him. He left only me and a few others behind to guard the place. A criminal from the fifth level has escaped. He defeated Bishop, Speeding Assault, and Knight, and he's about to break out completely!"
Seryu's arrival offered a glimmer of hope; she was undoubtedly the strongest member of Stylish's squad, the doctor's proudest creation.
As for when exactly Shirou defeated "Knight," even Shirou himself had no idea. Knight had been an assassin who could render himself invisible, silently stalking Shirou, waiting patiently for an opportunity to strike. Unfortunately, Shirou was fully armored, providing no chance to attack. Soon after, Knight found himself hit by the body of a muscular infantryman Shirou had hurled aside, crushed against a wall and knocked unconscious.
Shirou was unaware of this accidental victory—though, had he known, he might have offered a sheepish apology.
"A criminal?!"
Hearing this word, Seryu's entire demeanor shifted abruptly, her face twisting into a terrifyingly fierce expression.
"If he's a criminal, he should obediently stay locked in prison, repenting for his crimes!!" she growled furiously, rage boiling within mere seconds.
"Koro, let's go!"
"Woof!"
Calling her small dog to her side, Seryu kicked the iron gate open with a single blow.
---
"He should be close now."
Shirou murmured softly, kicking aside the final infantry soldier blocking his path. He felt a gentle breeze from ahead—the exit was near.
He sprinted eagerly forward.
BOOM—!
A heavy iron gate flew past him at incredible speed, crashing violently into the opposite wall and raising clouds of dust.
Shirou instantly felt a familiar, oppressive aura.
"In the name of justice, I shall deliver judgment upon your wickedness!!"
Accompanying this fierce cry, an orange-haired girl appeared before him.
Before Shirou could react—
"[Judgement of the Ten Heavenly Kings: Taizan Cannon of Justice]!!"
A massive cannon barrel emerged from her arm.
It's her!
Shirou's pupils contracted sharply. He recognized this girl instantly—she was the one who, in her zeal to apprehend criminals, had leveled an entire district to the ground.
What right does she have to claim justice?!
But the terrifying blast gave no time for Shirou's silent rebuke.
A golden torrent of destructive energy burst forth from Seryu's arm cannon, obliterating walls and reducing everything it touched to ashes.
Trapped in the narrow corridor, Shirou had nowhere to escape.
The armor of Incursio, weakened severely after prolonged battle and further compromised by the armor-piercing scissors, wouldn't survive such an attack. Shirou clearly knew that his projected replica of Incursio had reached its limit—it would shatter instantly upon impact.
"[Trace—On]!"
"So, the greater the crisis, the greater its power becomes?"
A large sniper rifle adorned with a blade materialized in Shirou's hand.
Immediately, intense agony surged through his body. Simultaneously projecting two Teigu—even for Shirou—caused severe internal damage. But at this moment, survival overshadowed all other concerns.
If he didn't risk his life now, he'd be utterly vaporized by that terrifying cannon blast.
"[Pumpkin: Roman Artillery]!"
Faced with a life-threatening danger, Shirou fired an even greater surge of golden energy directly at Seryu's blast.
BOOOOM—!
An enormous explosion erupted where the two energies collided, the powerful shockwave violently throwing both combatants off their feet.
With its supports destroyed, the ceiling crumbled violently, burying the underground facility under rubble.
Shirou felt his consciousness waver as the floor vanished beneath his feet, and he fell into darkness.
The bullets of Pumpkin transformed spiritual energy directly into destructive force. Unleashing such immense power in an instant exacted a tremendous toll on Shirou's mind.