Chapter 206: Seven Captures
Is Julian their enemy? Without a doubt, yes. Although the conflict between them and Julian had vanished once Emiya Shirou realized a method to save humanity that didn't require using Miyu Ainsworth as a sacrificial offering, the very fact that this method was so mundane—the kind of idea anyone who had watched a few science-fiction blockbusters, let alone studied the subject, could conceive—meant that even though Julian had automatically ignored it under Darius's influence, it didn't mean they could peacefully coexist just by saying they would stop fighting.
Therefore, rather than relying on verbal arguments, it was better to proceed according to Emiya Shirou's original plan.
"What exactly happened just now? What was the flaw that allowed Emiya to fail to take me down like before?..." Just as Julian was still pondering this question, suddenly!
"Awooooo! Oooooo-aaaaahhhhhhh!!"
A cry of pain that echoed through the surroundings was uncontrollably vented from Julian's mouth.
"Emiya! You! You bastard, what did you just do...!? You asshole!!!"
Clutching the spot where he had been struck by [Rule Breaker] in agony, it felt as if a figure were emerging from Julian's back, only to be forcibly shoved back in by Julian himself. As he cycled through this process of emerging and being pushed back, he roared at Emiya Shirou: "Do you have any idea what you've done, you son of a bitch?!"
First, one must clarify: Julian's talent for magecraft is poor. Extremely poor. Otherwise, in the Holy Grail War five years ago, the ones who died would not have been Julian's father, Zachary Ainsworth, and his sister, Angelica Ainsworth. Only his father, as the contemporary head of the Ainsworths, and his sister, as the next head, had the qualifications to participate in the Holy Grail War, thereby being caught in the catastrophe it triggered. This resulted in Julian, who lacked talent and had not participated in the war, being forced to inherit the position of family head.
Since Julian's talent was so poor, how could he realize the Ainsworth family's long-cherished wish—opening [Pandora's Box]—and, after discovering the Earth's environment was becoming increasingly hostile, save humanity through the "Divine Child"?
It was simple: Displacement. If Julian's talent wasn't enough, he would simply perform a displacement with a mage who possessed strong talent!
This was one of the "benefits" Darius brought to the descendants of the Ainsworth family when performing displacements. When Julian performed the displacement, it wouldn't just be Darius's soul displaced onto him; Darius's Magic Circuits, his knowledge regarding displacement magecraft, his experience... all these things would be displaced onto Julian as well.
But now... Julian had lost it all!
"I know," Emiya Shirou replied calmly. "Noble Phantasm—[Rule Breaker]. Its ability is to break all magecraft applied to the target it pierces. This includes objects reinforced by magical energy, contracts based on magical energy, and life forms born from magical energy...
Naturally, the magecraft the Ainsworth family has performed for generations—allowing Darius Ainsworth to displace himself onto you descendants—will also be undone."
Of course, because [Rule Breaker] only touched the displacement magecraft Darius had applied specifically to Julian, it could not stop the broader concept of the displacement—the concept of Darius displacing himself onto his bloodline and the entirety of the Ainsworth descendants. Unless Emiya Shirou could find every single descendant of Ainsworth, including Darius himself, and "break" them using [Rule Breaker], he could not stop Darius's displacement. He could break the magecraft on Julian now, but he could not prevent Darius from continuing to apply displacement magecraft to Julian in the future.
However...
"However, for you, Julian, although you have lost the experience and knowledge Darius gave you, as well as the deep modifications Darius made to your Magic Circuits...
But Julian, you who no longer need to fight against Darius's soul to prevent him from completely occupying your body, don't you feel that your body has become much lighter now?
Even if this is only temporary, the influence Darius had on you has indeed been eliminated by me."
Emiya Shirou said, "How about it? Are you finally able to listen carefully to what I have to say?"
Having lost Darius and with his physical modifications forcibly interrupted, Julian was now left with nothing but himself. But even when Julian was in a state of displacement with Darius, he hadn't been able to see through how Emiya Shirou had done it. Was this Julian now capable of doing so?
...No, that wasn't even a question of "can he or can't he!"
Having long ago resolved to save humanity at any cost, Julian undoubtedly chose to rush forward once again.
"...!?"
Bam!!
Emiya Shirou's hand, however, once again easily bypassed Julian's attacks and defenses, touching Julian's body.
"Of course, Julian, you didn't actually have a choice, did you?"
This time, Emiya Shirou didn't even use [Pseudo-The World] to stop time. He simply projected [Pseudo-Anubis] and, using the absolute speed provided by its stats, arrived directly in front of Julian.
Furthermore, [Pseudo-White Snake], which was also projected by Emiya Shirou, appeared by his side at this moment. From a perspective that only Stand users could see, it reached out its palm and stroked Julian, extracting a DISC from his body.
—"Only one?" —"It seems Darius has indeed disappeared from Julian's body at this moment."
After confirming the number of DISCs in [Pseudo-White Snake]'s hand, Emiya Shirou thought to himself while putting the DISC back into Julian's body, allowing Julian's consciousness to return to clarity. He then continued his sentence: "Now that you've confirmed you have absolutely no ability to resist in my hands...
Do you finally have the patience to listen to my perspective on this parallel world and the humans within it?
For example, how to save the humans of this parallel world, and so on..."
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