Fate Arknights: Shirou Emiya Chapter 177 177: Draw the Blade!

Facing the Originium explosives flying toward him, Shirou reacted imdiately.

The twin blades Kanshou and Bakuya, which he had originally intended to use for a counterattack, appeared in his hands. He swung them at high speed.

Using a Noble Phantasm purely for defense might have been a better option, but Shirou had already been preparing to project Kanshou and Bakuya. On top of that, he had not been calm enough to observe the opponent's movents, which was why he had been caught off guard.

Fortunately, Shirou dealt with the four Originium explosives at remarkable speed, preventing them from detonating.

At the sa ti, he seized the opportunity to charge straight toward the Ursus man in front of him.

From this position, as long as he eliminated the opponent and imdiately deployed Rho Aias to block the direction of the main entrance, he should be able to prevent the Originium dust from spreading before everyone evacuated.

The space above had been too narrow earlier, which was why that approach had not been possible.

Originally, he had planned to trigger a Broken Phantasm using the Kanshou and Bakuya he had thrown at the opponent's feet to create an opening for his next move. However, the opponent seed overly confident and stood there completely unguarded.

The distance between them closed instantly. Just as Shirou was thinking about where to strike, he noticed a slight curl at the corner of the opponent's mouth.

"Hmm!?"

Seeing that expression, Shirou realized sothing was wrong.

"Bye-bye~!"

The Ursus man threw the Originium explosive he had been waiting to use and imdiately followed up with a shot from his crossbow.

If handled correctly and swiftly, the explosive would be neutralized just like the ones Shirou had dealt with earlier.

However, if he forced an attack, the explosive would detonate instantly.

Boom—

The Originium explosive exploded right in front of Shirou, and a massive amount of Originium dust instantly engulfed both of them.

The prepared Ursus man retreated imdiately.

Although he still inhaled a small amount of Originium dust, he was already an Infected. Aside from his Oripathy worsening sowhat, it did not have a significant impact on him.

"Sora, support !"

As the only mber of Penguin Logistics who had brought a weapon inside, Texas gripped her Originium lightsword tightly and prepared to charge forward.

She had been helping evacuate the crowd earlier, assuming Shirou could handle it.

That assumption led directly to the current outco.

They all knew what would happen to soone surrounded by such a large amount of Originium dust.

Just as Sora raised her staff to cast her Originium Arts in support of Texas, a hand grabbed Texas by the shoulder.

"Do you want to beco Infected by rushing in like that? Leave it to a professional!"

Franka held Texas back.

She was not particularly angry. She was not close to the person involved, so what she felt was mostly regret.

But anyone witnessing this scene would feel the sa regret for soone who had been trying so hard to protect others.

Regret that such a kind person would beco Infected.

After all, the path of survival for the Infected was extrely harsh.

She knew that from personal experience.

She understood Texas's feelings, but charging in without any protective equipnt would only result in becoming Infected.

As a forr mber of Blacksteel Worldwide's B.R.P.S. biohazard protection unit, carrying a spare protective mask was only natural.

She had long wanted to cut that Ursus man down with a single strike. That smug expression alone made her want to punch him.

And her partner was not stopping her this ti. That was rare, and she intended to make the most of it.

Just as Franka was about to put on her mask and enter, the Originium dust swirling inside the building suddenly began to shift.

A large amount of Originium dust started converging toward the spot where Shirou had been.

At the center, Shirou was fully focused, gathering a massive amount of magical energy in both hands.

Ti rewound by a few seconds.

At the mont of the explosion, the blast itself was not particularly powerful. It only left Shirou's clothes in tatters. Thanks to the reinforcent from projecting Kanshou and Bakuya, his body had not suffered significant damage.

However, being engulfed by such a dense cloud of Originium dust felt terrible. Shirou felt as though he were standing in a sea of flas.

The dust was like thick smoke, continuously invading his nose and mouth, irritating him without pause.

"So this is what it feels like to be infected?"

Shirou did not know what symptoms ca with Oripathy. Perhaps this suffocating sensation, like inhaling smoke in a fire, was the precursor to infection.

Fortunately, the area covered by the Originium dust was not large. Only he and the Ursus man were within it.

At least no one else had been hard because of his mistake…

Shirou showed no concern about the possibility of becoming Infected.

To him, whether he was Infected or not did not matter.

The priority right now was to eliminate that criminal imdiately.

If his understanding was correct, their goal was to create panic in Lungn.

That was why they had chosen a concert, a place crowded with people.

Their roles had been clearly divided. One person stayed outside to draw the attention of the Lungn Guard Departnt, while four others planted explosives at the concert venue.

And those people even claid they were doing it for the Infected…

Acting like this, Shirou did not even need to think to reach a conclusion.

Their actions would only make the situation of the Infected in Lungn even more precarious.

One had to rember that Lungn was already relatively tolerant toward the Infected. In other places, they might have long been driven out.

What these people were doing did not help the Infected in Lungn at all. On the contrary, it would only make their lives even harsher.

With that in mind, Shirou prepared to project a Noble Phantasm and destroy the opponent along with the explosives in one strike. The mont he began the projection, he felt voices erging from within his mind.

The screams of n, the shrieks of won, the cries of children…

Countless voices appeared all at once in his head, and at the sa ti he felt as though he could not breathe.

The intense pain forced all the air out of his lungs, leaving him completely unable to inhale.

"Ah… ah…"

Half-kneeling on the ground, Shirou no longer had the capacity to worry about his physical condition.

The images and voices flashing through his mind again and again continuously assaulted his nerves.

The suffering of the Infected upon this land.

The tears of the Infected upon this land.

And the anger of the Infected toward this land.

This sensation was not unfamiliar to Shirou. It was like coming into contact with All the World's Evil itself.

Overwhelming negative emotions relentlessly eroded him.

"I need to… deal with this first…"

Gritting his teeth, Shirou forced himself to ignore the voices and images.

Compared to All the World's Evil, this was nothing more than a drizzle, was it not?

He was not so fragile that he would collapse from sothing like this.

That was what he thought, but he realized he could not move at all.

His limbs would not obey him, let alone allow him to gather magical energy to use Projection Magecraft.

Pain and dizziness continued to wear down his willpower, even making him consider abandoning everything and leaving the rest to the Lungn Guard Departnt.

Until he heard Texas's voice.

It seed she intended to use Sora's Originium Arts for support and co help him.

But this place was dangerous… Would it not be enough to guard the entrance and prevent that man from escaping?

Then again, thinking about the personalities of everyone in Penguin Logistics, there was no way they would leave him alone in this cloud of Originium dust.

That would not do… Who would normally carry protective gear around? If they rushed in recklessly, they would beco Infected.

With that thought, Shirou squeezed out the last bit of his strength.

He staggered to his feet and began to use Projection Magecraft.

"Do not look. Do not think. If you give up, soone will rush in to find you."

He kept muttering to himself, reminding himself over and over.

It seed to work. As if he had hypnotized himself, the voices and images in his mind beca blurred, and the piercing pain in his body lessened.

That was right. He was not alone. It would not be good if he collapsed here.

After all, he had spoiled the mbers of Penguin Logistics. Without him, they would probably struggle to take care of themselves for a while.

And there were also Rope and the children at the shop. He could not just abandon them. They depended on his inco to live.

As for the Lungn Guard Departnt… they might manage without him, but everyone would surely worry about him.

As scenes from his daily life flashed through his mind, Shirou's gaze gradually cleared and control over his body quickly returned.

At the sa ti, those negative emotions were suppressed.

"Hah…"

Letting out a deep breath, Shirou quickly understood why his condition had suddenly improved.

The shroud wrapped around his right hand was releasing magical energy.

Although this was his first ti seeing such a phenonon, it was undoubtedly the shroud's doing.

He tore off the tattered sleeve on his right arm, revealing the shroud beneath that emitted a blue glow of magical energy. Then he began to mobilize his power, gathering it into both hands.

Not Kanshou and Bakuya, his preferred weapons.

Not the longbow he had been using frequently lately.

Nor any other Noble Phantasm.

Shirou felt that the weapon he should project now was the sword that Chen always wore at her waist…Chi Xiao.

From the mont he first saw that sword, he had already grasped its structure.

He did not know why, but he felt that projecting this weapon now was the best choice.

However, he should not have been able to project weapons related to Originium.

The reason was simple. While he could replicate the outward form of Originium, he could not comprehend the substance within it.

But that did not matter. Right now, he was surrounded by Originium.

If he could not understand it, then he would simply borrow it.

Just as he always had—borrowed ideals, borrowed power…

Even if it was borrowed, at this mont, it belonged to him.

In his hands, spheres of magical energy continuously absorbed the surrounding Originium dust, gradually taking the shape of Chi Xiao.

The mories contained within that sword also began to surface in Shirou's mind.

Scenes of Wei Yenwu instructing Chief Chen in swordsmanship appeared in his mind.

Drawing the blade, Tear Edge, Night Rush, Raised Brow, Absolute Shadow, Cloud Split, Sky Gaze…seven distinct techniques.

The mont when Chief Chen first used Absolute Shadow, then woke up in the hospital and found Chi Xiao at her bedside.

The first ti she tried to use Chi Xiao against an enemy, she could not draw it for so inexplicable reason. Fortunately, at a critical mont, Chi Xiao unsheathed itself, collapsing half of an underground parking structure. When it was drawn a second ti, it opened a massive gateway.

Chief Chen attributed her inability to properly wield Chi Xiao to her own lack of effort and so she pushed herself to beco faster and stronger.

Fragnt after fragnt of these mories surfaced within Shirou's mind.

At the sa ti, the shroud on Shirou's arm emitted an intense glow of magical energy, enveloping his entire body.

As the Originium dust dissipated, Shirou stood before everyone, holding a sword that radiated a crimson light.

The floral shirt that Hoshiguma and Swire had given him as a disguise had completely disappeared.

In its place were a red sleeve on his right arm, a black sleeveless tight-fitting top, and black trousers.

The red cloak wrapped around his waist fluttered continuously as magical energy surged through him.

"What!?"

Seeing the Originium dust vanish and Shirou standing there seemingly unhard, the Ursus man was montarily shaken.

But that panic quickly faded.

Because Shirou swung the Chi Xiao in his hand.

"Chi Xiao: Draw!"

Thrusting forward with the projected Chi Xiao, the man in front of him, along with the explosives on his body, was instantly split in two.

Even the structure behind him was cleaved open, leaving a massive hole.

The strike was so fast that to onlookers, Shirou appeared to move first, and only afterward did they hear the na of the technique.

"Wow, how did he change outfits in an instant? That is so cool!"

With the danger gone, Franka tore off her protective mask and stared at the scene with excitent.

Setting everything else aside, just based on that outfit alone, she would give a perfect score.

And with that red sword swing added in, she would rate it off the charts.

"Thank goodness…"

Unlike Franka, who only cared about appearances, the mbers of Penguin Logistics all let out sighs of relief when they saw that Shirou seed unhard.

Sora's eyes were even slightly red.

anwhile, Shirou stood there holding Chi Xiao, staring blankly at the scattered remains caused by his strike.

Walking forward, he picked up a long, thin strip of orange cloth from a severed arm.

He rembered what it was. Back on the snowy plains of Ursus, mbers of Reunion had worn the sa thing tied around their arms.

So… the ones behind this entire plan were Reunion?

Before Shirou could think further, a wave of intense pain surged through him. Exhausted, his vision went black, and he collapsed straight backward.

His consciousness faded.