53 The Fate-Splitting Strike
In midair, two figures were continuously falling. Perseus jumped off the flying horse at the last moment, falling alongside Shirou.
They were already at a considerable height, looking down on the earth; the entire city lay beneath them.
Shirou was face-down, the wind rushing into his mouth, his cheeks trembling irregularly.
"Not over yet!" Perseus summoned flying shoes that allowed free flight.
"Just the moment I was waiting for!" Shirou's eyes blazed with anger as he swung his katana into the air.
With both hands, he projected Kanshou and Bakuya—black and white short swords adorned with Taiji patterns—and tossed them toward Perseus.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm"
His right leg stepped onto the thrown scabbard, using it as leverage to instantly close the distance to Perseus.
"Our strength rips the mountains"
With both hands, he simultaneously projected dual blades, slashing left and right.
"Our swords split the water"
Perseus tried to dodge, but the returning dual swords had already encircled him, leaving no escape.
The black-clad man groaned in pain and froze in place.
As he swung the black sword, the white sword flew back and slashed Perseus's left back.
"Our names reach the imperial villa"
At the moment the white sword struck, the black sword returned and cut into Perseus's right back.
"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together."
Finally, Shirou projected a third pair of black and white swords, the blades extended into long swords, and both slashed down upon Perseus!
"Triple-Linked Crane Wings!"
"Ugh ahhh!!!" Perseus screamed his last cry.
Under the boy's relentless combo, he lost the strength to fight back. Six deep wounds, with the final two long sword slashes rendering his arms immobile.
His Noble Phantasm lost its magical power supply, became ineffective, and he plummeted straight downward.
Indeed, he possessed multiple Noble Phantasms, but had a fatal flaw: he could not use another Noble Phantasm while one was active. Earlier, when Perseus used the reins of the cavalry to charge on the pegasus, he could not employ other Noble Phantasms.
The moment he summoned the flying shoes was his weakest point.
Shirou targeted this moment and executed his finishing blow.
The boy was still a hundred meters or so above the ground. His sharp eyes caught sight of a pink-haired girl holding a shield rushing toward them below.
"Shirou-Senpai! I'll catch you!" Mashu opened her arms, seemingly ready to enact the classic knight-carrying-princess scene.
"No need." Shirou smiled wryly at the girl and projected the flying shoes, which his Mystic Eyes had already analyzed thoroughly, and flew down himself.
"See, I'm fine." Shirou raised his right hand, catching the katana that was just falling from the sky.
"Hmm…" Mashu seemed somewhat disappointed as she lowered her arms.
At that moment, a dull thud sounded behind them, where the black-clad man had fallen. He was beginning to emit a glow, about to revive.
The black mud's control had dissipated; Perseus appeared to have regained his sanity. His eyes were no longer crimson, but the look he gave the boy was still filled with fury.
"What exactly did that 'me' do to make you so angry?" Shirou asked, puzzled.
The now-sane Perseus's face twisted further, veins bulging in his agitation: "Even if I've been freed from the corruption, I still cannot accept your 'justice'. Even if I vanish, I will curse you! Emiya!!!"
"It's not over yet! Ahahaha! Even if I'm defeated, the spell will still activate.
After I disappear, the Gorgon will become a completely uncontrollable beast.
You will still be killed.
I'll drag you down into despair and regret in the Underworld!"
"This is the price you pay for denying our achievements and acting recklessly. I will kill you! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! This world that denies heroes has no right to exist!"
At his final moment before vanishing, Perseus let out a mad roar.
As he disappeared, a hysterical roar erupted from within the dark beast's nest. The voice was hoarse as if it was tearing its own throat apart, sending chills down the spine, causing the
body to tremble. It was more nauseating than the foulest beast and more terrifying than any scream. It was a sound no normal creature could produce.
Unlike the previous sorrowful, melancholic howls, this was the furious roar of a demon—cursing, declaring the destruction of the world.
At this moment, Da Vinci, detecting the abnormal magical reaction, appeared in a hologram, shouting in alarm: "Shirou, this is bad! The Gorgon turned beast has gone berserk. Perseus's Holy Grail is with her. If the Pandemonium she releases appears in the real world, everything around will dissolve!"
"What should we do, Shirou-Senpai? My Noble Phantasm can only protect people nearby. Everything else will be destroyed." Mashu said anxiously.
"I know. Leave it to me. Mashu, thank you for working so hard for this world." Shirou smiled gently and patted the junior's head. The girl had done enough. Now it was his turn.
Shirou gazed at the enormous black nest not far away, bigger than a gymnasium, looking like black snakes twisted and intertwined into a demonic lair.
"No big deal. Just cut down this dark shrine."
"Cut it down? How? We don't have Marduk's axe or the goddess Quetzalcoatl here." Mashu asked.
"What nonsense. We don't need that feathered serpent god's help. This blade alone is enough." Shirou said confidently to the girl.
"This is…?" Mashu questioned.
For the first time, Shirou drew his sword and recited the incantation to unleash his Noble Phantasm—the lifelong conviction of the sword's forger.
The blade emitted golden light, with crimson bloodlust bursting uncontrollably from the moment it was unsheathed.
Once, there was a boy with a righteous heart who wanted to save the world. After countless struggles, he realized humanity was destined for destruction—a great trend no mortal power could halt.
So the boy chose to do the only thing he could: since he could not project divine-made Noble Phantasms, he would forge one himself.
Since then, the boy became a blacksmith, devoted entirely to forging a divine weapon capable of splitting open the future for the entire world.
The ultimate sword he pursued his whole life:
Not a blade to sever mortal flesh and bone;
What I seek is the reckoning of resentment;
To sever karmic ties, to sever fate, to sever sin;
—Its name: Liberation of Fate.
To reach this state, countless studies were undertaken;
A mountain of swords was built to form a blade mound;
This state is the convergence of all phenomena;
This state is the fulfillment of all wishes;
This state is the cessation of all karma;
My entire life is dedicated to this sword;
The sword sings—!
This is my Tomokiri, Muramasa—!
The black prototype barrier was cleaved in two by the strike.
The beast's nest collapsed completely under the power of the single blade.
All the beasts inside turned to black dust. Even the enormous, incomplete monster at the center was destroyed. This was the ultimate divine strike—nothing could be avoided, everything was finished.
Calm returned to the surroundings.
Everything before their eyes was bathed in dazzling white light.