Chapter 132 After the Battle Ended
Within the barren world of the Reality Marble. Charging at the boy, Li Shuwen's body was now wrapped in something like a black close-combat battle suit. His speed and strength had risen considerably, and his fists carried terrifying might.
Shirou, without the slightest fear, rushed forward to meet him. In an instant, the steel gauntlets hanging from his hands projected Kanshou and Bakuya.
Grasping the twin black and white blades, he clashed fist against sword. The murderous sound of blades slicing the air mixed with the violent swish of fist-wind, ringing out again and again.
In strength and skill, Li Shuwen had the advantage. Yet the boy, relying on his ever-changing, flexible fighting style, forcefully bridged that gap. While enduring the fierce barrage of Bajiquan, he found opportunities to counterattack.
One moment, when his blades were blasted away by a crashing punch, he caught the blow with his gauntlets and reprojected weapons into his hands to continue fighting. The next moment, weapons descending from above at sharp angles targeted Li Shuwen's weak points, only to be swept aside by his rising legs.
The two attacked and defended as they moved, from the left side of the floor all the way to the right, where the wall had been shattered open by Hiratsuka Shizuka. Collisions rang out again and again, the fight locked in stalemate.
Wounds began to appear on both their bodies. Blood dripped from the corner of Shirou's mouth, but Li Shuwen too had several cuts torn open. The sheath was working within him, while the black mud writhed.
Shirou knew the battle had only just begun. Moving rapidly, his body gave off a hazy smoke that enveloped the interior, producing several afterimage clones. But it seemed the illusions had no effect on Li Shuwen.
"Crooked tricks! Worthless!" Li Shuwen always discerned which was the true body, striking with his fists.
All his life, Li Shuwen had been obsessed with Chinese martial arts. Cultivating qi, cultivating force, pursuing the transcendent state of unity between man and heaven—through this training, he had developed circle sense, allowing him to perceive the qi of the surrounding flowers, trees, and all living beings. Naturally, he could also sense the presence of life.
Thus, the illusions around Shirou were useless.
Originally, Li Shuwen could also use this technique to conceal himself within nature. But because the power of the black mud was too domineering, its advantages came with
drawbacks. Though it enhanced his magical energy and recovery, it robbed him of certain precise martial skills.
Swift and fierce power pierced through defenses, striking the true body. Seizing the advantage, Li Shuwen launched a flurry of relentless attacks.
This simple yet explosively powerful boxing style was terrifying. Kanshou and Bakuya, after blocking a few strikes, were jarred from Shirou's hands. Forced onto the back foot, he hastily crossed his gauntlets to block, pressed backward step by step, but stubbornly held his ground.
"Good! Again!" In Li Shuwen's eyes, there now gleamed admiration.
Amidst battle, the boy continued to grow. Life-or-death struggle was the greatest tempering ground. The earlier battles with Li Shuwen had not been wasted. That strike to his abdomen that had ruptured his organs, the heart-rending pain—it had not been suffered in vain!
The three-story duel before ascending upstairs had deepened Shirou's understanding of Chinese martial arts even further. Now, he was gradually catching up to Li Shuwen's movements.
With a crashing punch, Li Shuwen aimed to break open the boy's guard.
"Now!" Shirou seized the chance, sidestepped the fist, grabbed his opponent's arm, and leaned forward, while his right leg swept at Li Shuwen's base. This was a grappling technique he had mastered in live combat with Li Kui, under Yan Qing's guidance.
"Hmph!" Li Shuwen grunted, stomping down hard toward Shirou's leg, seeking to cripple it before his balance could be fully broken.
"Take this! Iron Fist—Holy Judgment!!!" Suddenly, Hiratsuka Shizuka leapt back in through the broken wall, unleashing her strongest punch at Li Shuwen's head from behind.
"What!" Li Shuwen hastily raised his fists to block, his steps halting.
Seizing the moment, Shirou flung Li Shuwen into a stagger.
At the same time, the dragon Tarasque spun its body, ramming into Li Shuwen.
Shirou raised Excalibur and swung with all his might, releasing magical energy. A golden beam struck Li Shuwen, detonating violently around him. Within the Reality Marble Unlimited Blade Works, the thousands of hovering Noble Phantasms rained down all at once, erupting in chain explosions.
The bombardment continued for several minutes before ceasing. Blazing fire erupted across the Reality Marble, crimson flames roaring skyward.
The Reality Marble dissolved, returning them to the rooftop of the building. Shirou was drenched in cold sweat, while Hiratsuka Shizuka clutched her injured arm, gasping.
The two of them watched warily toward the billowing smoke where Li Shuwen had been. From within, a shadow stood… and then sat down on the ground.
"Hahaha! I've lost! Splendid! Truly entertaining! Boy, your potential hasn't even been fully unleashed yet—your body's potential, your eyes' potential. I'd love to fight you at your peak!" The black mud combat suit covering Li Shuwen cracked apart, crumbling off him like scorched charcoal.
Shirou, exhausted, sank to the floor as well. "Well, if next time it's as a Heroic Spirit, not in this mud-corrupted form, I'd like to learn some Bajiquan from you."
"Hmph, don't spout nonsense. No matter the form, no matter how one lives, as long as the original intent remains unchanged—that is the true self." Li Shuwen gave a faint, ambiguous look, then added, "And you as well. Even if you are only the embodiment of Emiya Shirou's yearning for happiness, you are still you."
"Then tell me—what's really going on? Why did you come after me?" Shirou asked.
"Killing you was nothing more than meaningless revenge. The others, I've only heard of them—I don't know their motives. Eccentric types, all of them. I only wanted to challenge strong opponents. But indeed, there are monsters whose claim to be 'Servants' is dubious at best. Against those types, even I would be helpless. Still… you'll face them sooner or later. So I'll leave you with this: so long as you never forget your original intent, you can still grow stronger."
With those final words, Li Shuwen glowed faintly and returned to his Throne. The body once wrapped in black mud melted away into a pile of sludge, spreading slowly across the floor.
"We… we won… finally! When I was blown away, thank goodness I grabbed the eaves, or else I really would've fallen." Hiratsuka Shizuka collapsed to the ground.
"Are you alright, Sensei?" Shirou asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, fine." She waved her hand.
At the critical moment, she had shielded herself with her elbow, taking Li Shuwen's crashing punch.
Though she was blasted away, it spared her from having her organs completely shattered. After smashing through the wall and falling, she stabilized herself and, with Da Vinci's guidance, seized the chance to deliver her decisive punch.
"As expected of Shizuka-chan, all bones and hot-blooded spirit! Even with your hand already broken, you bit down on the eaves with your teeth just to stop yourself from falling. I don't think this world has a tougher woman than you!" Da Vinci praised.
"Shut up, Da Vinci!" Shizuka snapped angrily, though she was secretly pleased to have shown a cool side of herself.
"Sensei… thank you. You really are both cool and cute." Shirou looked at her with respect and admiration.
"Shirou—you shut up too~!"
Just then, a hot wind blew from outside. The building trembled, creaking as though about to collapse.
"An earthquake?" Shizuka muttered in confusion.
"Is the building going to collapse?" Kasumigaoka Utaha cried in alarm.
"No, it shouldn't disintegrate this quickly," Shirou said with a frown.
"There's a magical reaction in the sky—it's a Noble Phantasm attack! Be careful!" Da Vinci shouted after reading the data.
The surrounding space changed color. In the sky above, several giant, flaming meteors streaked downward like falling stars. With the building already unstable from losing its magical support, if struck now it would be shattered instantly, collapsing in ruins.
"Run! With that many boulders, not even Tarasque's shell could block them all!" Shizuka yelled after seeing the scene outside.
"Over here, Senpai." Shirou quickly pulled Kasumigaoka Utaha toward the window.
"Shirou-kun, what do we do?" Utaha asked nervously.
"Clench your teeth and don't talk!" Shirou ordered, nodding at Shizuka.
"Eh? … Wahhh!" Utaha gasped in confusion.
The next instant, she was swept up in Shirou's arms. Leaping onto the windowsill, he exerted all his strength and jumped outward.
No one noticed that at the moment the three leapt out, a shadow appeared inside, snatching the golden cup that had been revealed beneath the dissolving black mud where Li Shuwen had fallen, and exited through another window.
As they escaped, massive flaming rocks, each two or three meters across, smashed down onto the counterfeit building. From roof to foundation, several holes were gouged through in an instant. The violent impact sent thunderous crashes across the structure, beams and tiles exploding, debris scattering through the air.
Held in Shirou's arms, Utaha shut her eyes tight. She felt herself floating, then being dragged downwards like riding an elevator pulled by gravity.
Two heavy impacts landed, her body shuddered lightly, and then there was silence.
A gentle voice sounded by her ear. "It's alright now, Senpai."
Opening her eyes, Utaha took in the ground before her, blinking in surprise. Then she looked at the boy holding her. Silver hair flowed behind him, amber eyes gleamed with a violet light, his face seemed even more handsome now.
"Th-thank you…" Utaha's cheeks flushed red.
"No need for thanks. For your sake, no matter the flames of hell or the mountain of blades, I'll rush in and save you first." The boy's silver bangs half-veiled his face, his eyes shining with violet tenderness and concern, enough to melt the girl's defenses.
"I-I'm fine…" Utaha's heart pounded furiously.
"Good. Then I'm relieved." His voice was low, close, as he leaned down to look at her. Their noses were almost touching.
"Shirou! Put Utaha down already! How long are you planning on holding her?!" Shizuka shouted.
"Oh… oh." Merlin-Shirou snapped back to himself. In this state, he felt as if Merlin's personality might take over at any moment.
No no, Shirou, your body's always been under your control. In the inner world, Merlin spread his hands innocently.
"Right now Shirou-kun seems unexpectedly manly… so forward," Utaha muttered, cheeks pink, as she was gently set down.
"Thank you, Sensei, thank you, Shirou." Utaha bowed to both.
"No, I should be the one apologizing! It was my fault you were dragged into this." Shirou bowed in return.
"What was with those meteors just now? Was it Li Shuwen's last trick, trying to take us down with him? Doesn't seem like something he'd do," Shizuka frowned.
"Yeah, anyone who fought him knows—he's a battle maniac. Nothing thrilled him more than a true all-out fight," Shirou replied.
Utaha shook her head. "No, Master Li said I was brought here by another Servant. He knew I went to the same school as Shirou-kun, so he brought me upstairs."
"What's going on then? Could there be someone else hiding?" Shizuka asked.
"No. The magical reaction from the mud Servant has definitely disappeared. This world itself is dissolving. Aside from the Servants we already detected, there are no anomalies," Da Vinci shook her head.
Just then, thunderous cracks echoed overhead. The miniature world's sky split open, fissures spreading. Forests collapsed, land heaved upward into ridges, while other places caved into yawning pits.
"Shirou! Shizuka! The space is collapsing rapidly—evacuate at once!" Da Vinci's projection warned.
"Ahh, trouble just keeps piling on," Shizuka grumbled.
"In any case, let's get Senpai out of here first!" Shirou said.
With that, he picked Utaha up again, sprinting and leaping into the portal connecting to the otherworld.
"Ahhh! The Holy Grail reaction is gone! I wanted to wait and retrieve it… but did it vanish along with the world?!" Da Vinci cried regretfully.
"Since it disappeared into another space, it doesn't matter. In a world without mysteries, even if someone picked it up, it'd just be an ordinary cup," Shirou said calmly.
"The Grail? Both of my Marthas are already level 100. That thing's not much use," Shizuka waved it off.
"That was a real Holy Grail, you know. With it, even wishing for a hundred handsome, rich, and considerate boyfriends wouldn't be impossible!" Da Vinci teased.
"What! Quick, find a way to fish it back!" Shizuka's eyes lit up as she shouted, trying to dive back into the collapsing portal.
Shirou hurriedly grabbed her.
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