"Now this is quite the welcoming party!"
Sisigou Kairi tossed the cigarette from his hand to the ground, grinding it beneath his heel. Hearing the chaotic commotion at the city center, a crooked grin formed at the corner of his lips.
Watching as hundreds of Dragon Tooth Warriors flooded towards them, Sisigou calmly drew a horizontally-barreled double shotgun from his jacket.
He might not have been able to face Heroic Spirits directly—but did that mean he couldn't handle these skeletal minions?
Bang—!
The double-barreled shotgun unleashed a thunderous blast, shattering the bones of the first Dragon Tooth Warrior instantly upon impact.
For once, Kairi wasn't using the specialized finger bullets he employed against magi. Those bullets excelled at killing living targets, but they were significantly less effective against the undead.
Instead, right now, Sisigou Kairi was using genuine live ammunition. Much like the legendary Magus Killer, he held no qualms about wielding modern weaponry.
Simple and effective—why would he hesitate to use such straightforward means?
Though Dragon Tooth Warriors possessed formidable defenses—resistant to conventional blades and most magical attacks—one shouldn't underestimate the raw destructive power of modern firearms.
Though he might not be able to dispatch them instantly with each shot, rapidly firing multiple rounds could still take them down quickly.
"Hrraaaah—!"
Bang—!
Meanwhile, Emiya Shirou and Astolfo led the charge.
As the only two individuals present capable of fighting at a Servant's level, the Dragon Tooth Warriors crumbled like paper before them. With effortless swings of his katana, Shirou cut down swathes of skeletons, while Astolfo, despite his comparatively lower strength among Heroic Spirits, proved more than sufficient against this threat.
Seeing Shirou and Astolfo swiftly dismantle the majority of the Dragon Tooth Warriors, Kairi and Astolfo's Master felt their pressure considerably lessen.
After all, unlike Shirou and Astolfo, Kairi and the homunculus lacked Servant-level strength—one relying purely on modern weapons, the other barely proficient in magecraft.
Had Kairi not constantly protected the homunculus Master, the latter would likely have suffered injuries, even if not fatal ones.
Within mere moments, reminiscent of Mordred's devastation of Yggdmillennia's homunculi, Shirou and Astolfo cleared out the entire group of Dragon Tooth Warriors.
Due to limited materials, Semiramis couldn't reproduce the three thousand Dragon Tooth Warriors she had possessed aboard the [Hanging Gardens]. However, the ability to rapidly summon hundreds of these warriors was still proof of her impressive magecraft.
Yet the assault wasn't over.
A faint hum resonated through the air, followed by a sinister, wine-like fragrance spreading slowly throughout the city. A thick, violet poison mist emerged from every street corner, gradually filling their surroundings.
The mist bore an aura capable of consuming everything, clearly visible to Shirou and the others.
At just a glance, Shirou could instinctively sense the lethality of this poison—if he inhaled even the slightest breath, death would claim him in an instant.
Yet, his immediate worry wasn't about his own safety.
"It seems the Red Faction was well-prepared. All of the city's residents have evacuated already," Sisigou remarked flatly, sensing Shirou's concerns.
As an experienced magus, Kairi wasn't foolish enough to enter enemy territory unprepared. He'd released familiars upon arriving, surveying the entire area immediately.
Even a Servant would find this poison mist challenging, let alone ordinary civilians. Evidently, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had already placed hypnotic suggestions on the city's population beforehand.
Indeed, with a magecraft expert like Semiramis, accompanied by a Servant of the Caster class—though the latter likely did nothing—casting wide-scale hypnosis on civilians was easily achievable.
Upon hearing Kairi's words, Shirou immediately felt relieved. As long as innocent lives weren't at stake, he could act freely.
Swish—!
"Wait—!"
Before Sisigou could stop him, Shirou decisively plunged the syringe containing the Hydra poison antidote straight into his neck without hesitation.
His motion was swift and ruthless, catching everyone present off-guard.
Suddenly, a short sword linked by chains appeared in Shirou's hand.
"[Incursio—]!"
Instantly, the familiar armor enveloped Shirou's body.
"I'll leave the rest to you!"
BOOM—!
A violent gust erupted as Shirou's figure shot forward, transforming into a silver flash that tore through the air with terrifying momentum.
"Hey—!?"
Caught completely unprepared by Shirou's reckless decision, Astolfo staggered backward from the shockwave Shirou's acceleration created.
This wasn't just any poison—knowing Semiramis's true identity, even Astolfo realized instantly what the violet mist represented.
Even Servants would struggle against such poison, so how could Shirou, a mere human, dare to rush into it directly?
"What the—!?"
Astolfo's Master widened his eyes, utterly stunned and uncertain of what to do next.
"That damn brat! That serum wasn't meant for this!" Kairi growled, gripping his forehead in exasperation.
He'd given Shirou the antidote in the hopes it would help him survive—not for the boy to recklessly dive headfirst into a lethal poison mist.
Kairi genuinely wanted Shirou to survive this Holy Grail War. That syringe was his insurance, not a ticket for Shirou's suicidal charge.
"Rider! Provide Shirou support from above! Your Master and I will withdraw to a safer position!"
As the only adult present and the decision-maker of this operation, Kairi knew he had no choice but to act decisively.
Though he wished he could follow Shirou, he knew very well that even Jack the Ripper's poison mist had almost killed him—he wouldn't stand a chance against Hydra Venom.
He wasn't even sure if he himself could endure the antidote's effects.
"Alright! I'm a hero too, you know—I can't let him outshine me!"