Chapter 99: Piercing the Heel of a God! The Final Move That Decides Victory!
Shirou's arrow successfully pierced through Kali's shoulder.
Even the defense made up of raging wind couldn't withstand the power of that arrow. It was easily penetrated, directly injuring the War Goddess herself.
Such an exaggerated scene undoubtedly shocked everyone present to their core.
While most people couldn't comprehend what had just happened, Takemikazuchi, the God of War, was the first to speak and offer an explanation to the crowd.
"There's a phrase called 'divine craftsmanship'—when pure technique reaches its absolute peak, even true gods might not understand the realm that humans can reach," Takemikazuchi said, gazing at the two on the battlefield with a complicated look. "In that brief instant just now, both Kali and Shirou were using techniques that far surpassed the mortal realm. What appeared to be an ordinary exchange ended in an incomprehensible result."
"Divine technique, huh?" Ishtar spoke with a complex expression in response to Takemikazuchi's words. "Kali's earlier action—raising a storm just with impact—was certainly something no mortal could achieve. But what about Emiya? From what I saw, he simply fired an ordinary arrow. That arrow shouldn't have been able to pass through the storm and strike Kali."
"That's because, in that moment, Shirou's technique surpassed Kali's level," Takemikazuchi replied quietly. "People often say, 'Return to simplicity'—when technique reaches the peak of perfection, it becomes so natural and seamless that it appears unremarkable. Yet it's precisely because nothing stands out visually that it proves how many unseen details are hidden within."
"You mean to say that Emiya's arrow reached a state of near-perfection…"
"I even feel it surpassed the realm I imagined.
In terms of archery alone, I've never seen anyone more exceptional than Emiya. Perhaps even Artemis, the Moon Goddess known for her divine archery, wouldn't surpass Shirou's skill."
Takemikazuchi expressed a deep sense of admiration, holding Shirou's arrow in the highest regard.
Even though the others couldn't discern as many details as Takemikazuchi, just witnessing such an unexpected outcome was enough to prove how astonishing Shirou's archery truly was.
If it weren't a genuine divine technique, there was no way it could have pierced through the War Goddess Kali with a single shot!
Even Ottar, who remained silent the entire time, wore an increasingly serious expression, which made clear how much he acknowledged Shirou's arrow.
At least within the domain of archery, Ottar, having witnessed that arrow, felt as if he were staring up at an unattainable mountain—unable to summon any desire to challenge it.
While everyone was shaken by the brilliance of Shirou's shot, the person most affected by it was none other than the War Goddess Kali herself, who stood on the arena floor.
"A divine technique, huh?" She pressed down on her pierced shoulder, looking at Shirou with a serious expression for the first time. "At this point, how many more times do you intend to shock me, Shirou Emiya?"
Though her words sounded serious, Kali's expression was instead brimming with joy.
Her gaze toward Shirou was filled with undisguised delight and excitement, as though she were deeply impressed by how Shirou continuously exceeded her expectations.
At the same time, she casually pulled the arrow from her shoulder.
Even though removing the arrow tore through her flesh and muscle, Kali paid it no mind. Her left arm drooped weakly, rendered unusable.
Yes, because no magic was allowed within the arena, Kali had no means of healing her wound.
Shirou's arrow had directly pierced Kali's shoulder—effectively rendering one of her arms useless.
However, even with her left arm completely incapacitated, Kali showed no sign of panic. Her expression was just as fervent and battle-hungry as before.
"Though I lost an arm due to carelessness, now that I've seen your true trump card, the one who'll win this battle will still be me!" Kali declared as she stepped forward, maintaining the same pace as before, charging toward Shirou without hesitation.
Faced with the War Goddess, who had lost an arm but continued to charge like nothing had changed, Shirou didn't dare let his guard down.
After all, the terrifying combat prowess Kali had shown earlier had left a deep psychological shadow on him—he didn't dare engage her in close combat.
So Shirou decisively activated all his magic circuits and turned to run around the arena, engaging in a game of cat and mouse with Kali.
Of course, Shirou wasn't just running away.
In reality, he couldn't keep fleeing forever—there was still a speed gap between him and Kali.
If too much time passed, Kali would inevitably catch up to him.
Thus, Shirou's true goal was to wait for a new arrow to regenerate.
According to the rules of the arena, after a certain amount of time, arrows compatible with the divine bow would automatically regenerate.
"Snap!"
Before long, after a period of chasing, a new divine arrow appeared in Shirou's hand.
Without hesitation, Shirou drew the bow and nocked the arrow, aiming directly at the pursuing Kali.
"Swoosh!"
Having learned from experience, Shirou didn't pause for a second—his motion was smooth and fluid as he released the arrow!
And since this was a divine-technique arrow—an arrow born of perfected technique—no force could deflect or stop it. It was a true, guaranteed hit.
Kali had already lost one arm to Shirou's previous shot.
If Shirou could strike her remaining arm, it would completely disable her ability to fight!
"Hit—!"
Before everyone's eyes, Shirou's arrow flew at top speed toward Kali and, just like before, accurately targeted her body.
However, just as the arrow was about to strike, Kali suddenly pulled a sharp dagger from behind her back.
"Clang!"
With a fluid motion, Kali swung the dagger and cleanly sliced the arrow in half. The broken arrow fell to the ground.
"Heh, did you really think I only knew how to fight hand-to-hand?" Kali twirled the dagger smoothly, as if showing off. "While I may not be a master of every weapon, I'm quite skilled in armed combat.
The reason I didn't use weapons at first was because in most battles in the War God's Games, I tend to hold back, using only hand-to-hand techniques.
But even then, few mortals can handle me.
Shirou Emiya, you're the first one who's ever forced me to use a weapon.
That's something you can be proud of for the rest of your life!"
Kali's words left Shirou and the audience in stunned silence.
Only now did everyone realize—Kali couldn't possibly be a god who only relied on her fists and feet.
As the Goddess of Combat, even if she wasn't proficient in every weapon, she would undoubtedly possess strength far beyond what ordinary beings could reach in certain types.
At the very least, no ordinary person could possibly do what Kali just did—cleave a flying arrow out of the air with a dagger!
"Snap!"
At that moment, as Kali gripped her dagger, the murderous aura she released was so intense that it seemed to plunge the entire coliseum into a winter-like chill.
In the very next second, Kali lunged forward at an indescribably terrifying speed.
Shirou didn't even have the chance to witness her movement before he felt a streak of cold light coming straight at him—aimed directly at his face!
An average person faced with such an attack probably wouldn't even have the time to react before being completely taken down.
However, Shirou, thanks to his "Mind's Eye" skill and the extraordinary combat intuition it granted him, managed to dodge Kali's strike purely on instinct.
He immediately rolled backward and picked up yet another longsword-type weapon that had formed in the coliseum.
The moment he picked up the weapon, Shirou counterattacked without even turning his head.
But at the instant his sword clashed with Kali's dagger, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
"Crack!"
At the moment of impact, Shirou's swung sword was directly cut in two by Kali's dagger.
The massive gap in skill meant that even with the same weapons, Shirou was no match for Kali at all!
"Bang!"
Seeing his weapon shattered, Shirou realized it was impossible to fight Kali head-on.
He quickly retreated, creating distance while drawing an arrow and nocking it onto his bow, firing it toward Kali!
"Twang!"
However, perhaps due to his injuries, he accidentally released the bowstring before he could properly aim, causing the arrow to fly wildly off-target and shoot far across the coliseum.
Seeing such a blunder from Shirou, not only did the confident Kali scoff, even the audience members couldn't bear to keep watching.
Even though Kali only had one arm, Shirou was clearly no match. The broken sword in his hand was swiftly knocked away.
Even the power of Mind's Eye couldn't withstand Kali's onslaught.
"Is that all you've got?!" Kali mocked the disheveled Shirou, saying with sarcasm, "I even gave you the handicap of one arm, and you still can't defeat me? If this is all you're capable of, then this is where your journey ends, Emiya Shirou!"
As she spoke, Kali slashed with her dagger from an incomprehensible angle.
Shirou had no way to defend against the attack and couldn't find any angle to evade it either, resulting in his abdomen being pierced, blood gushing out!
"Gah!!"
But despite being hit, Shirou did not fall.
Like Kali before, his body had suffered a severe injury, but thanks to a surge of adrenaline, his movements instead became faster than usual!
Because of that, before Kali could launch her next strike, he decisively pulled back the bowstring and shot an arrow toward the sky.
To most observers, this wildly misaimed arrow seemed to show that Shirou had completely lost his composure and could no longer fight properly.
Kali thought so too.
Thus, Kali strode confidently toward Shirou, dagger in hand, intending to end the battle for good.
But all of this was part of Shirou's plan.
That wildly fired arrow had been precisely calculated by Shirou to fall back at a perfect angle and strike Kali from behind.
As long as she approached him, that arrow would determine the outcome of the duel!
Just a little closer—come closer!
Shirou pretended to be defenseless, baiting Kali to step into the exact position he had calculated, using himself as lure.
Kali was completely unaware of Shirou's setup. With her dagger in hand, she swaggered over to him.
At that moment, the arrow descended from the sky.
If it hit Kali, the War God Game would come to an end.
However, just as the arrow was about to hit, this loli-like goddess seemed to grow eyes on her back, suddenly dodging to the side at the last second.
"Thud!"
In the end, the arrow missed, embedding into the ground.
"Heh, did you really think I'd be so foolish as to fall for a trick like that?" Kali sneered at Shirou. "Since I knew you were a master archer, of course I've been on guard for every arrow you fired. After all, archery is the only way you could possibly defeat me. As long as I shut that down completely, there's no way for you to win!"
Shirou didn't respond to her words.
His demeanor was like that of a defeated man who had accepted reality, incapable of further resistance.
"Well, at least you tried to fight back in the end. That deserves some praise," Kali smiled at him. "Come with me to the war nation of Telskyura. I'll train you into the strongest warrior, into the man most worthy of me!"
Freya, sitting in the stands, looked serious upon hearing Kali's oddly meaningful declaration. She seemed to be considering how to stop Kali's actions.
She was even prepared to have Ottar intervene after the match to crush Telskyura and take Shirou back.
But just as Freya was about to act, Ottar shook his head and said, "Lady Freya, this duel isn't over yet."
"What?"
Not only Freya, but everyone present was baffled by Ottar's words.
No one could see how Shirou still had any means to resist.
Only Ottar, with sharp eyes fixed on the battlefield, seemed to have already seen the preparations Shirou had made—and his final strategy.
"It's over, Emiya!"
Kali raised her dagger slowly, ready to strike.
"Twang!"
But at that moment, a second arrow suddenly descended from the sky—an arrow that shouldn't have existed—and struck Kali directly in the heel of her right foot!
"AAAAHHH!"
The human foot has many nerve points, and the pain caused by an injury there is far more excruciating than a wound to the shoulder.
Even Kali couldn't endure it and collapsed to her knees, her face twisted in agony, unable to stand!
"Why?!"
Everyone present was shocked.
No one had expected a second arrow to fall from the sky and hit Kali so precisely!
How was that even possible?!
"Remember the arrow I fired off-target earlier, Kali?" Shirou clutched his wounded abdomen and slowly got to his feet. "That shot was intentional. From the beginning, I knew that no matter how I shot at you—whether head-on or from the side—you'd definitely dodge. So if I wanted to hit you... to hit a God of War like you, it had to come from somewhere you'd never expect!"
"Somewhere unexpected... What the hell are you talking about...?"
Kali, drenched in cold sweat, looked at Shirou in disbelief.
Then, she noticed Shirou's eyes shift toward the circular sculptures surrounding the coliseum.
Though faint, Kali clearly saw a series of friction marks on those curved structures.
From that, she realized: Shirou's arrow hadn't been misaimed—it had been aimed at the circular architecture of the arena.
With perfect calculation, he had caused the arrow to spin along the arena's curvature, like a bowling ball, gaining momentum and curving back around under centrifugal force to strike her from an unimaginable angle.
Just imagining it felt unreal.
What kind of absurd archery skill would that take?
Whether it was Kali or the surrounding audience, everyone was overwhelmed by shock.
They realized Emiya Shirou's archery had already surpassed the bounds of common sense. Even the phrase "divine skill" no longer did it justice.
And so—
After that beyond-reason arrow hit Kali's heel, she completely lost her ability to move.
Everyone believed this was Shirou's victory.
He just had to find a way to defeat the now-incapacitated Kali and knock her unconscious, and he would win the duel.
However, this seemingly simple step turned out to be incredibly difficult.
No matter what he tried, Shirou couldn't hurt the immobilized Kali at all!
Especially now that the hidden arrow trick had been exposed—any arrow Shirou shot from now on would be easily blocked by Kali.
"Hehe, you really are impressive, Emiya!" Kali knelt in pain, but still grinned. "You're the most extraordinary man I've ever met. That's exactly why I want you so badly!
Do you think losing an arm and a leg means I've lost? You're far too naive. A so-called God of War—so long as our heart still beats—we'll never admit defeat!"
As she spoke, Kali stomped off the ground with her one good foot, leaping into the air.
At the same time, the dagger in her right hand completely shut down all of Shirou's attempts to attack, leaving him totally unable to hurt her.
In that moment, Shirou truly understood what kind of monster a God of War was—and that ordinary means could never defeat such a being.
If he wanted to win, he would need a weapon strong enough to end the battle in one blow—a weapon that left the enemy no chance to fight back!
But all the weapons in the coliseum were just ordinary blades—not enough to determine victory.
However, that didn't mean Shirou had no way to acquire such a weapon.
Ever since he started learning blacksmithing, he had always heard one phrase: "Forging is, at its core, striking heated iron with a hammer."
As long as there is a hammer, fire, and iron, a weapon can be made anywhere!
And in the coliseum that Kali had created, not only were there countless weapons she conjured—which were essentially raw iron blocks—
But in the distance, there was even a randomly spawned weapon hammer.
While its shape was more suited for battle than smithing, it was still usable.
Most importantly, the perimeter of the coliseum was surrounded by divine flames burning fiercely!
There were iron materials, a hammer, and high-temperature flames.
All the conditions needed for forging were present!
With that, Shirou could absolutely forge a weapon—a weapon that could decide the outcome of the battle and bring an end to this monstrous God of War!
He would use his own forging skill to bring the final conclusion to the God of War Game!