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Chapter 10: Shirou Emiya
What the hell is going on!?
Kirei is dead? How!? Why!?
Gilgamesh comes to mind… but even I doubt he would kill a "source of entertainment" even if he got bored of him. Was it Zouken? No… the one I fought was the genuine article, and I made sure that the bastard never came back. Illya, Caster and Souichirou all have an alibi so I can scratch them off the list of suspects.
[The only explanation is that some outside entity killed the priest]
'But why? What could they gain from his death?'
[I don't know. By the way, you may want to pop back into reality. I think Rin is about to lose it]
I look up to see Rin's face as red as a tomato with rage twisting her cute face.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
At this moment, I knew I fucked up. "'What's wrong?' What's wrong is that we're concerned about the fact that there is a third party who knows about the Holy Grail War and maybe out there trying to kill us and you're just staring off into space like a moron!?"
"Well, if it makes you feel better I'm just as worried as you and I've already ruled out any possible suspects." I stated.
Something caught Shirou's attention, "wait a minute, Rin. why would you think they know about mages?"
Rin turns to Shirou. "You know how Kirei wasn't just a priest? Well, there's more to that. He is, or was, an Executor, someone who is tasked with dealing with heretical beings like us mages. Fortunately, the church is in alliance with the Clock Tower so there's no need to worry. He is also a user of Bajiquan, a fusion of martial arts and magecraft, as well as being proficient with the Black Keys. It would take someone as strong or stronger than Kirei to take him down."
I nod, knowing full well Kirei's fighting prowess. Unlike Kiritsugu, Kirei's magic circuits didn't suffer any ill side-effects from the mud of the Holy Grail and as a practitioner of this fighting style, it makes him lethal in close-range. Souichirou could probably take him on, but I'm not sure if he could defeat him since he isn't a magus.
"So, whoever this mystery killer is could come after us?" Illya asked.
"It's likely, but we'll have to investigate." Rin replied.
I turn to Caster "can you modify the barrier around the estate?"
Caster nods, "I can add defensive measures just in case someone with malicious intent wants to get inside."
I take a deep breath, "now with that out of the way, it's time to address another prominent issue."
Everyone turns to the bound Taiga by the end of the room, still possessed by Jaguarman. She was still asleep, apparently because she had exhausted all of her mana yesterday.
[You know, I still don't get how someone captured a Divine Spirit and bound it to a onesie of all things]
'Maybe they're just very smart and tricked it.'
[I get the feeling that wasn't the case]
Rin narrows her eyes and looks at Shirou, "wake her up."
Shirou obeyed and stood up. He walked towards the kitchen and returned with a platter, to which he set down on the table and opened the lit, revealing what could be described as the most delicious meal even conceived by man.
[He really outdid himself with this one]
The aroma floated around the room, attracting everyone with satisfaction of eating a good meal, as evident by everyone's stomachs rumble, Servants included. The girls had difficulty keeping their composure at the presence of such a divine meal, but they needed to persevere.
The aroma hit Taiga's nose and her eyes snapped open, already surveying her surroundings like the hunter she is.
She looks at Shirou and greets him with a toothy smile. "Heya, Shirou-nya! Is that my breakfast?"
Everyone looks at her with confusion. "Fuji-nee?" Shirou asked.
"Yeah? Who else would it be, silly boy?" Taiga asked. She struggles to undo her binds, not knowing they were enchanted, "and what's with these chains? Did I sleepwalk or something?"
"You could say that…" Shirou let out a nervous chuckle.
I kneeled next to her, "do you remember anything from last night?"
Taiga turned to me and I could have sworn her eyes turned to slits "and who are you?" her head moved to survey the rest of the group and growled, "who are all of you?"
This was incredible, she was radiating killing intent that even made Servants tremble in fear, heck I could sense Berserker instinctively going to a fighting stance. So this is the authority of a Divine Spirit. The ones that got the short end of the stick were the Masters, since by the end of the day they are only humans though a bit above average.
Shirou, Rin, Sakura, and Ilya fell back as they seemed to be suffocating from the pressure Taiga was exuding. Souichirou didn't seem to be struggling, but if you pay close attention you could see that he was gritting his teeth tightly and hands were twitching though slight.
Seeing as it would be bad for me if they died, I smacked Taiga in the back of the head and the pressure subsided. With that gone, the Masters breathed a sigh of relief as they were no longer in danger.
"What the hell was that for!?" Taiga cried.
I shot Taiga a deadpan look, "you were exuding killing intent, anymore and you would have suffocated Shirou along with everyone else."
Taiga looked at me quizzly, "well, if I want to mark my territory, I have to let them know that they don't belong here and that they need to leave."
I raise an eyebrow, now this is interesting. It seems that Jaguarman's instincts are influencing Taiga's mannerisms and overall common sense (if she has one), but it seems her personality is mostly intact.
[Their souls seem to be more in sync than we thought. I don't think it's possible to separate them without causing harm]
"Now can someone PLEASE get these stupid chains off!?" Taiga cried.
Caster muttered something and the chains disappeared, as soon as it did Taiga vanished and was now enjoying her divine breakfast in a blink of an eye. We all did a double take at Taiga's inhuman speed as she was just in one spot and now was here.
"So…" Taiga began, her mouth stuffed with food, "What's your relationship with my little brother? And don't lie, I can smell lies from a mile away."
"..." Shirou remained quiet, deep in thought as to what to do. He doubted anyone could erase her memories since she is now part god. The only option left…
Was to kill her.
No! That is gonna happen. Fuji-nee is the only family he has left, regardless of the circumstances… he'll fight if he has to.
There was only one thing left to do…
"Fuji-nee, I have to tell you something…" Shirou began.
I turned to Shirou perplexed before my eyes went wide as I quickly put the pieces together.
[No way]
Rin catches on too and narrows her eyes, "Emiya-kun, don't you dare…"
"Onii-chan." Illya was anxious.
"I won't stand in your way." Souichirou reassured him.
[He's really going to tell her]
The Servants seemed to share the same sentiment.
"I'm a mage." Shirou revealed.
A couple minutes later…
[I admit, this went better than I thought]
'You got that right.' I agreed
Having the heirs of the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern as well as six Servants made explaining everything to Taiga a lot easier than I thought, including how she'll be hunted down by the Mage's Association if she tells the public. Surprisingly, she was taking this rather well.
But what she said next caught everyone off guard…
"Wait… so you mean my grandfather really wasn't joking about Kiritsugu being a magical assassin?" This pretty much let everyone do a spit take at the question.
"WHAT!?"
"You mean Grandpa Raiga knew this whole time!?" Shirou exclaimed, surprised that his dad told someone his secret.
I doubt anything can surprise her at this point.
Someone tugged her onesie (yes, she was still wearing that thing) and saw Illya trying to get her attention, "What is it sweetie?" Taiga asked.
"Uh… I never got to introduce myself," the white-haired cutie gave her an innocent smile, "my name is Illyasveil von Einzbern, and I'm Kiritsugu's daughter."
*Taiga Fujimura .exe stopped working*
THUD
I was wrong.
Midday
Shirou is seen in his shed practicing his magecraft. So far, he has made some progress with his Reinforcement; now being able to strengthen objects for longer periods of time though they are still unstable. As for his other talent well…
Let's just say he needs work and leave it at that.
'Hmm… so far so good, but its still a long way to go. Now, if only my Projections were just as stable.' Shirou thought. Suddenly, the object he reinforced began to shake violently before shattering into pieces.
"Dammit…"
"If this is how far your magecraft has progressed, then you are in worse shape than I thought."
Shirou looks up to see Rin standing by the door with a duffle bag. "Tohsaka? What are you doing here?"
"Lancer saw you leaving for the shed and I came to check up on you, turns out you were practicing your magecraft and pretty poorly at that." Rin looks around and opens her duffle bag, revealing that there were a few lamps inside. "Here, try to reinforce these."
"Alright." Shirou puts his hand on the lamp and focuses his magic circuits to reinforce the glass… only for it to shatter a moment later. He tries again with the next lamps but the same result occurs every time.
"I see… I thought as much." Rin searched through her bag and pulled out a small red object and leaned towards Shirou.
"Here take this." She puts it in his mouth.
"Is it candy?"
"Just shallow it."
Shirou does what he's told… and immediately regrets it, "ugh, what the hell was that!?" He rubs his throat after swallowing the object.
"A gem." Rin reveals.
"A GEM! Why would you make me swallow that!?" Shirou cried. Suddenly, he begins to stagger and loses balance as he feels mana washing over him.
"Relax, I do this all the time. I'm merely helping awaken your true magic circuits." Rin told him.
"Awaken… my magic circuits?" Shirou uttered while under the effects.
Rin nods, "from what I saw, you were forcing yourself to use your own nerves as magic circuits whenever you were trying to reinforce something which is a very dangerous and foolish way to do it. What that gem is doing to you now is forcing the switch in your body in the 'on' position to properly activate your circuits. Like any proper magus, please endure it…"
Shirou finally recovers from the effects of the gem, "a switch?"
"Once you visualize the switch in your head, you will be able to use mana properly and realize your magic circuits' true potential." Rin said.
"Well, I do feel a bit different." Shirou stood up and did a quick check on himself to make sure nothing was wrong.
Unawake that Rin was slightly blushing at the sight.
"Rin."
Rin turned around to see Archer materializing outside the shed, "what is it Archer?"
"I have come to train the boy." This left the two of them surprised until Archer continued. "Don't misunderstand, I am only here to offer him how to use a sword… and considering his paltry performance in magecraft, it is evident that this needs to be done."
Rin simply nods understanding his reasoning, but can't shake the feeling that something's off. "Well, I'll leave it to you, I'm going back inside." Rin leaves and walks back into the house.
Archer watches Rin go inside before turning his attention to Shirou. "Come with me." He orders and heads towards the Kendo Room. Shirou was hesitant, but eventually followed him… if he wanted to get stronger, he'll have to work with Archer whether he wants to or not.
A couple hours later…
Kendo Room
Shirou fell head-first on the floor with two shinai following suit. Archer stares down at him with two shinai in both hands.
"Weak. That form of yours is too broad; you need to square your shoulders more when you swing." Archer reprimanded.
Shirou picks up his shinai and dashes towards him, ready to deliver a downward strike. Rolling his eyes, Archer nonchalantly steps aside then proceeds to send quick jabs at Shirou's unguarded areas, effectively dismantling him. "If you're trying to catch me off guard, don't waste a single move. Give them the illusion of incompetence and strike them down."
The sound of rain hitting the roof of the dojo can be heard.
"That's enough for today, the girls must be hungry." Archer said.
Shirou gets up and heads towards the door. He didn't understand why this guy wanted to help but decided not to question it.
"Wait."
Shirou turns to Archer.
"Let me make something clear: when it comes to combat, Emiya Shirou, on his own, has no hope of defeating a Servant. No matter how hard you try in your current state." Archer stated.
Shirou glares at Archer, clearly ticked off by his words.
"If you can defeat your enemies in reality… visualize something you CAN defeat them with." Archer then summons his twin short swords, then crosses them together to give Shirou a good look.
Shirou's eyes were drawn to the blades… while this wasn't the first time he saw them, he never got a good look at them.
They were beautiful.
Unbeknownst to Shirou, his mind started to list the history and materials of the blades to memory… to the world within his mind.
"Because that… is the only thing you're capable of doing." Archer dismisses his swords.
Shirou snaps out of his trance and glares at Archer agan.
"Don't lie to yourself that you have already started doing the very thing I said." Archer scoffed at Shirou's anger.
Shirou turns around and heads to the door. No matter how hard he denied it, there was some truth to Archer's words and his experience simplified them.
Archer just stares at the door before making a grunting sound. Dammit! This should not be so difficult, why is he wasting his time teaching him!? "I must be going crazy… I am advising someone I should kill."
"Maybe because deep down, you believe there's still a chance he wouldn't become you."
Archer snaps to the source revealing Frank leaning against the wall. When did he…?
"I've been here the entire time and you never noticed. The wonders of Presence Concealment, you can never know what's actually in the corner of your eye." I hummed as I walked towards him, "I was honestly expecting you to kill Shirou during training, but it looks like you held yourself back. That's good, the last thing I need is to deal with that conundrum."
Archer stood in place as I walked past him.
"With the Holy Grail War being so different from what you remember, it'll be impossible for Shirou to become you and he may become a different Heroic Spirit entirely; one that isn't bound to Alaya." I stated.
In his soul, the Counter Force is screaming at him to take action; telling him that this creature should not exist and that it must be eliminated immediately!
"But that's a good thing, right? With Shirou's future no longer set in stone, fate has been unraveled and casualty has been made void." I turn to Archer with a smile, "wouldn't you agr-"
Archer threw Kanshou at my face and missed by millimeter. A cut appears on my cheek.
"Who are you!?" Archer demanded, pointing Bakuya at me, "how the hell do you know so much about me and my connection to the boy!?"
I bring my hand to my cheek, and the cut heals as it moves away. "Oh, Shirou…" I began, "I know everything. I know who you are, who you were, what you became, and what you will become if you continue on this path." I finished.
Archer glares at this thing with hatred in his eyes. How dare he call him by that name, the name of a boy who destroyed everything for a worthless dream!?
"But to answer your question…" I began, "I think you know the answer better than everyone. After all, before you were a Heroic Spirit, you were a magus in life and, just like them, there was something you were seeking."
Archer growls in frustration, what kind of answer is that? What the devil did being a magus have anything to do with him! He's just talking in circles, dammit! The only thing that a magus seeks in life is...
No!
"You can't be…" Archer muttered, looking at me in disbelief.
No, not disbelief.
Fear.
I shrug. "It's not like I was trying to hide it, you know, and I did give you some hints. After all, nobody knows about your legend because it hasn't happened yet. The only one who would know would need to have direct access to the Throne of Heroes and I don't remotely look like the Wizard Marshall; he can never be as handsome as me."
"Abomination!" Archer hissed.
I shot a deadpan look at Archer, "well that's pretty rude. I am no different from any human or Heroic Spirit you see running around, though I will admit that I am a cut above the rest."
"You should not be here! The World wouldn't allow you to exist!" Archer stated.
"Yet here I am, see that's the thing about being a paradox: it doesn't make sense. It can't be understood or explained, yet it can exist and influence the World around it." I said.
"You will destroy everything in the end; your very existence clashes with the laws of this universe." Archer retorted.
"Excuse me, but aren't you the one planning to kill his younger self, which will create a paradox that'll result in God knows what, all because he's being a whiny little shit?" I yelled, "do you honestly think killing Shirou will change anything in the end? News flash idiot, the Throne of Heroes exists outside time and space, nothing you do here changes anything!"
"At least I'll save the world from the evil that is Emiya Shirou!" Archer spat back.
I blink a few times at the sheer hypocrisy this dumbass is spouting, "are you even listening to yourself!? What kind of evil is Emiya Shirou capable of!? Tell me!? " I demanded, "because from what I know Emiya Shirou isn't an evil being; he's an idiot. He thinks he can carry the burden of saving the world by himself when in reality that's a group effort." I walked towards him and poked him in the chest with my index finger, "victory can't be achieved without sacrifices; there will always be consequences to your actions and every hero has to face them at some point in their lives, but you just can't accept them."
I can see Archer's face twist into anger, but I don't care; Root be damned. "And you know something? I think Gilgamesh was right about you. You aren't a true hero, not by a long shot. You're just a Faker, a bastard who doesn't even deserve to be in the same stature as real heroes; nothing but dog shit!" I spat at him, literally.
Archer tries his hardest to calm down, this didn't bother him, this didn't bother him-
"I don't know what she saw in you, but I'll tell you this: Artoria would be very disappointed with you."
That did it!
Archer summons Kanshou and attacks me. I jumped back and summoned my Boosted Gear.
[BOOST, BOOST]
I leaped upwards and deliver a flying kick which Archer blocked, breaking his swords in the process. Archer, however, simply projects the same set of blades and continues his assault, which I managed to dodge at every swing.
"Trace - Overedge" Archer chanted.
[BOOST]
His short swords completely transform into longswords, which meant he has a larger striking range. I lean back just enough to dodge his attack. I then threw a spinning kick at Archer, who blocked it with his swords again which shattered on contact. The resulting momentum sent Archer flying to the wall, leaving a human-shaped crater in it.
"This is ridiculous Archer and you know it; I could easily defeat you." I told him.
Archer pulls himself out of the wall and throws the remains of his weapons, "you are correct about one thing, you can beat me if you wanted to but you wouldn't because you don't have the manifolds to do what needs to be done." His body then begins to flare up as an illusionary fire surrounds him.
[He's getting serious, but we still have upper hand]
I am the bone of my sword
Steel is my body and fire is my blood
I have created over a thousand blades
Unknown to Death,
Nor known to Life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons
Yet, those hands will never hold anything
So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works.
A bright light fills my vision and when it dies down, I am flabbergasted at what was in front of me.
Swords.
A landscape filled with numerous swords as far as the eye can see.
I look up to the sky to see a series of monolithic gears fill the sky, never letting the sunlight reach down this wasteland.
What a sad place.
"Do you see it? This is the world you are trying to protect; the world of a fool who chases after impossible ideals for a selfish cause that's both ridiculous and misguided." I see Archer standing on a hill looking down on me, "Emiya Shirou is nothing more than a fraud, a defect of humanity, but I guess you don't care about that. You both go hand-in-hand as contradictions to the world, parasites who should never be allowed to exist."
I roll my eyes, "you know that's irrelevant. As much as you claim the world is better off without Emiya Shirou, I think you're forgetting something important here."
Archer raised an eyebrow, "and what is that?"
I smiled, "I don't give a shit."
The gems on the Boosted Gear glow as it eventually surrounds me in a crimson aura. The light intensified until all that Archer could see was a figure surrounded in crimson flames. Archer begins to lose his footing as he is almost blown away, this is impossible! No Heroic Spirit should have that kind of power! Once the gust stops, Archer is shocked by the being before him.
Gone was the man in a velvet coat, and in its place was a man in red armor. The armor is covered in green jewels all over his body with golden spikes that seem to be coming out of his elbows, knees, and shoulders. The helmet is smooth without a visible mouthpiece but has two golden tusks that seem to be sprouting from both sides of his face. He has piercing emerald eyes that he couldn't tell whether they came from the armor or his own eyes. Attached to the helmet was an armored braid that resembled a tail that went as far down as his ankles. On his back were a set of wings that seemed pulsate with energy.
Overall, Archer could feel this dominating presence coming from him that seemed to demand him to kneel before him or be stepped on in defeat and die.
[WELSH DRAGON BALANCE BREAKER]
"Now then…" His voice seemed to leave an echo, "let's get straight to the point."
Noble Phantasms used:
Kanshou and Bakuya (Trace): Gān Jiàng and Mò Yé (C-) Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm
A "married" twin swords representing Yin and Yang, crafted by the blacksmith Gān Jiàng of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period of China. They were crafted more for the sake of crafting, as if questioning the meaning of the swordsmith, than for any real idea behind their creation. They were created without vanity, and lack a sense of purpose found in other swords. They contain no fighting spirit to defeat others nor a competitive spirit to beat other weapons, and they contain neither the desire to be famous nor the faith to accomplish great deeds.
Upon receiving orders from the King of Wu to forge an imperial sword, Gān Jiàng (Kanshō) could not think of ways to forge swords that fit such orders. While he was extremely frustrated and desperate, his wife, Mò Yé (Bakuya), upon seeing this situation, decided to gamble her own life. The sacrificing of human lives is absolutely necessary in order to forge items reaching the realm of Gods, so Bakuya hurled herself into the furnace in front of the husband she loved and used her own life to help the Essence of Five Mountains and the Metal of Six Heroes meld. Kanshou forged the two swords in grief. He kept the Yang sword, named "Gān Jiàng", and he only handed over the Yin Sword, "Mò Yé", to the king when it came time to present them. The king was furious upon discovering the deception, and he had Gān Jiàng killed.
EMIYA encountered the sword at some point during his lifetime and added them to the numerous weapons recorded and stored in Unlimited Blade Works. Archer additionally crafted spells of warding all over the swords' blades and can use Reinforcement to transform them into long swords. They are his favored weapons to project, having become his symbols after wielding them all his and Shirou Emiya find the craftsmanship of the blades to be extremely captivating and beautiful, and the swords suit their natural style of fighting. Despite not having a wielder in the legends, they are still Noble Phantasms crafted by the blacksmith.
They are rather low ranking compared to other Noble Phantasms, but the dual-wielding style, their experience, and their tracing time makes them very reliable. The main ability of the swords is their strong bond with each other, which not only allows them to attract each other, but it is also said they will return to their owner even if events cause them to be lost. If one is thrown while the other is held, the thrown sword will return to the wielder much like a boomerang. This works well with projection, allowing an already projected sword to identify a new projection as its partner sword. When both are wielded, the wielder's Magic Resistance and physical resistance improve, and their rank as both weapons and Noble Phantasms increases.
Unlimited Blade Works: Infinite Creation of Blades (E-A++) ?
It is the Reality Marble of Shirou Emiya and the Noble Phantasm of the Heroic Spirit EMIYA. EMIYA does not have a true Noble Phantasm that is the crystallized embodiment of a hero's existence like many demonic or holy swords, but if a Noble Phantasm is considered to be a symbol of the Heroic Spirit, then the Reality Marble is his Noble Phantasm. It is a high-class thaumaturgy that embodies their internal worlds and imprints them upon the World as a Bounded Field for a short amount of time. It is their one true specialization of magecraft, the result of "Sword" being both their Origin and their Elemental Affinity, and the basis of their projection and reinforcement skills. It is the definite answer obtained by someone whose life was saved by a sword, actually merged and lived with a sword, and acted as a sword all of his life.
To use it, both Archer and Shirou use an incantation to facilitate the invocation of the Reality Marble. It is close to a "Ten-Count" aria, using a poem about the caster as the basis, a sorrowful elegy in EMIYA's case, used to activate High-Thaumaturgy. Shirou describes it as a suggestion to change himself and the words that will "connect Shirou Emiya". Their chants differ slightly due to the different experiences in their respective lives. The lines of the incantation can be said at any time without requiring preparation, and Archer is able to stop between lines to speak and then resume without issue. The first line is often used in order to strengthen a projection, such as Archer's use of Caladbolg II and Shirou's use of Rho Aias.
Once the incantations have been completed, an illusionary fire that does not emit any heat spreads out to form a boundary and wall for the Bounded Field. The bright light fills the vision of those present, and manifests an open, barren desert with monolithic black gears gyrating in the distance. It is a kingdom of rubble littered with thousands, perhaps a countless number, of swords anchored in the ground like grave markers in a wasteland, yet are well preserved. It is a world likened to a steel mill, filled with weapons, flames, and giant gears. The basis for the world in the Reality Marble is a hill of swords that spreads infinitely in their minds. It is the final illusion Archer saw on the verge of death, the only pride left within himself, and it is where Shirou makes his vow to uphold his ideals during the Unlimited Blade Works route.
The reflection of this inner world depends on their state of mind and their experiences in life, which means that they are completely different and incompatible with each other. Archer's is formed from the basis of having been betrayed by everything, including by his own ideals, and in the end having only been granted this one single spell, resulting in the landscape becoming a smogged wasteland. Shirou is able to realize his version upon deciding that his ideals and dreams, while borrowed, flawed, and hypocritical, are still worth striving for and upholding and as such, his version is bathed in Twilight.
It functions as a steel manufacturing factory that produces the countless famous swords that are without their owners, extending into the horizon. It contains all of the raw materials and sorcery needed for the formation of the weapons, and it records and analyzes all weapons and defensive armaments encountered by the user. The number of unique weapons encountered and recorded by Archer exceeds numerous thousands, most of which are Noble Phantasms each possessing deadly powers. Their entire histories, compositions, and designs are all perfectly recorded, allowing for instant proficiency with the weapons by inheriting all combat skills and techniques utilized by their original owners. This allows for the reproduction of Noble Phantasms, which would generally be impossible for a faker. They can also be modified to the user's taste with reinforcement as shown by Archer's Caladbolg II and Kanshou and Bakuya.
Close combat weapons such as swords, spears, and halberds are the main focus of the Reality Marble in accordance with Shirou's Origin of "Sword", which also makes it impossible to record or reproduce modern weaponry like guns and other mobile weapons. Shields and defensive armaments can be reproduced with a much greater struggle as the cost in magical energy is high, two or three times greater than a sword, and the effects are merely transient compared to the originals. Weapons encountered are immediately analyzed with a single glance, enabling them to be projected immediately afterwards, and once projected, they are stored within the Reality Marble for later use. Shirou is able to instantly recognize dozens of weapons being fired from the Gate of Babylon at an extremely high rate and instantly counter with projections of the same weapons before they can strike.
Without being deployed, the Reality Marble allows for projection and reinforcement in the real world. Weapons are produced within Unlimited Blade Works and then brought into the world, greatly lowering the cost of reproducing them and allowing for numerous weapons to be prepared at once to be projected. Weapons can be summoned directly to the user's hands, or they can be summoned to levitate within the air and fire upon the enemy as arrows much like the Gate of Babylon. Once the Reality Marble is deployed, all of the weapons are available for use without the need to project them from scratch as they are physically there in the Reality Marble, and any weapon can immediately be called to the user's hands, pulled from out of the ground, or levitated even while the user is in direct combat. The weapons reproduced once the Reality Marble is first activated will not consume magical energy, but those used or destroyed within it will add to the cost of maintaining the Bounded Field. The amount of energy used to reproduce weapons that did not exist after the Bounded Field was expanded and the amount of energy used to recreate weapons destroyed while it is activated is extremely costly.
The Reality Marble is a natural counter to Gilgamesh, allowing Shirou, a below average magus, to completely overwhelm and defeat him. Though Shirou would be no match against other Servants who have mastered their own weapons to the utmost limit, Unlimited Blade Works being a somewhat troublesome ability to them, the fact that both he and Gilgamesh are "owners" of numerous weapons places them on a level playing field. Neither has a specialized weapon with which they can be called a "wielder", so Shirou's ability to counter each and every weapon fired by the Gate of Babylon places Gilgamesh at a disadvantage. Outside of the Reality Marble, Shirou is barely able to keep up with Gilgamesh's assault while he was simply playing around with Shirou.
Once within the confines of the Reality Marble, all of his weapons are produced and ready to attack, which means that the Gate of Babylon's slightly slower summoning rate allows Shirou to hone in on Gilgamesh to fight and defeat him at close range. He is unable to handle Shirou's attacks, which forces him to allow his own weapons to be destroyed in order to counter Shirou's projections, and Shirou even has time to instantly recognize Ea as Gilgamesh is drawing it and quickly chop off his arm before he can utilize it. Even with the advantages, he claims that Gilgamesh would win if he were to have time to regain his composure.
Boosted Gear: Scale Mail - Armor of the Red Dragon Emperor (C-EX) Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm
The second stage of the Boosted Gear, known as a Balance Breaker (Forbidden Move) which allows a Sacred Gear to unleash its full power. It creates the Red Dragon Armor with green jewels that covers the user's body and strengthens their bodies and abilities. When active the user can double their power without the 10-second time limit, this also applies to later forms. The armor has two rocket thrusters on its back for a temporary boost of speed and flight, from them can come out a pair of retractable dragon wings that enables proper flight. The armor is also capable of repairing itself from almost any damage it takes. However, wearing the armor and the duration it stays activated depends on the user's physical and mental condition, otherwise it can be severely lethal to them, so the Sacred Gear forcefully removes the armor when the user reaches their limit as a fail-safe. How much the armor repairs itself depends on the user's stamina. Even with the protection on the Scale Mail, the wielders are still vulnerable to Dragon-slaying attacks.
Kirei is a practitioner of a type of Bajiquan that Gen Urobuchi calls Super Bajiquan. It is an ultimate technique born from the miraculous fusion of Bajiquan and magecraft, having become an Internal Art that transcends the External Art. It is a reckless attack belonging solely to Kirei, whose self-destructive fighting style against Kiritsugu even enables him to sacrifice an arm. Kirei only had Black Keys for their battle in the design stage of Fate/Zero, while Kiritsugu had firearms, magecraft such as Innate Time Control, and Avalon, so Urobuchi needed something to even their arsenals. There was only Bajiquan, so he studied a number of reference materials to reach the realm of "amazing kung fu, truly amazing kungfu." The end result was a form of somewhat random Bajiquan, so it cannot be compared to real Bajiquan.
He relies on the "moving stance", a dangerous secret of Bajiquan, to advance towards the enemy by sneaking with a sight step, and without announcing its speed, shortening the distance. Moving a foot and hooking one of the enemy's legs from the inside is a move known as the "locking stance." The "Eight Grand Openings – The Standing Upward Cannon" is a heavy upper hook that would shatter the opponent's skull. The "Eight Postures of the Buddha Guards" style allows for a punch to have the "power to reach infinity in all eight directions" after reaching Bajiquan's optimum distance. Slamming his foot to the floor as he steps forward, he unleashes a heavy punch that sends a person flying back and kills the opponent after easily crushing their heart and lungs. Kiritsugu is only able to survive through the regeneration of Avalon.
He has mastered "hearing a move", a concept that a martial artist reaches a certain state where they no longer need eyesight to detect the enemy's movement. He can predict the opponent's next move purely on the brief moment when his arm blocks that of his opponent, meaning that having a blind spot or having an enemy too fast for the human eye to see is not a problem. Even with blood affecting his right eye, having use of only his left arm, and having Kiritsugu moving three times human speed, he is able to block all of Kiritsugu's strikes without issue. Humans would only see the lighting-like residual images Kiritsugu's dagger leaves in its wake, but his left arm can defend as if it can see every swing. His skills make him someone who will not be at a disadvantage even when put under the duress of speed.
Black Keys are a sacrament of the Church, one of their many charms used against demons and vampires. They are thin blades resembling a rapier that are longer than a meter with a short hilt. As Keys of Providence, they are able to call forth the original laws of nature vampires were subject to as humans, thus preventing them through purification from healing the wounds made with this weapon. Emphasized on the ability to intervene spiritually against "evil", they focus less on physical attack power, even affecting powerful spirits like Servants to some degree should they be struck. It is not enough to inflict any sort of fatal injury to them no matter how much energy is put into them, but they can be used to distract or pin them for a brief moment under the right circumstances.
They take the form of long and slender rapier-like swords with blades measuring over one meter and extremely short hilts, looking more likely to be used to thrust than slash at the opponent although Hansa shows them to be capable of slashing through concrete. Weighing one kilo, they are too thick and oddly-balanced, feeling heavier towards the tip, to use as melee weapons in general, and they seem more like Dirks made into swords or arrows even to someone who does not know of their true nature. With low effectiveness as swords despite their appearance, and their great length, their true usage is exclusively as throwing weapons likened to bullets rather than for swordplay. Despite being a basic weapon of the Church, they are mostly considered to be a symbolic weapon for Executors that not many favor due to the difficulty in learning how to handle them and their weak attack half-spiritual, they can naturally pierce even iron.
Reinforcement is the most difficult Magecraft with the purpose of pushing a basis to the utmost limit. It is the foundation of all Magecraft that enhance the existence of the target by pouring Magical Energy, but as no clear expression of how much it can be enhanced is defined, almighty reinforcements are rare. It is the same as adding something to an object that is already complete, in case of failure the target will receive it as a poison. Success requires a good grasp of the inner structure to fill openings with Magical Energy. Reinforcing the purpose of existence would be increasing the sharpness of a knife, the nourishment of food, or in the case of a living creature, physical strength and durability. It is impossible to reinforce something vague. As living things will resist invasion of Magical Energy, reinforcing someone else is the hardest. By putting this in application, Shirou Emiya is able to create a bow out of the branch of a tree, repair a soccer ball, or change the shape of an object.
Author Notes
No okame for this one, I couldn't come up with anything… and because I'm lazy. But let's not focus on me... instead, let's focus on me! It's time for the long-waited showdown. Archer is being an egotistical bastard and his way of thinking is just wrong on so many levels, so I'm going to knock some sense into him… even if I have to break his legs. So the question is, who's going to win? Or will there be any winners in the end? Only one way to find out…
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Peace~