Chapter 140 – Piercing Slaughter Spear: Instant Kill, Sword Princess Ais!
"Boom!"
A blinding red glow spread across Shirou's body.
As the power of the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs surged through him, the demonic spear quickly penetrated his flesh and fused completely with his body.
In that instant, Shirou's physical body underwent a drastic transformation: his skin turned crimson, veins bulged and pulsed violently, and twisted, overlapping scales began to emerge across his flesh.
Part of his body now looked just like the monsters of the Dungeon—twisted, deranged, and inhuman.
"What is that!?"
"A—a monster!"
"The Sword Demon really is a monster from the Dungeon!"
High atop Babel, the watching gods saw Shirou's grotesque transformation and grew even more convinced: this "Sword Demon" was not human—he was a complete and utter monster.
But Shirou had no interest in their thoughts.
He simply focused on keeping his reason intact as his blood-red gaze slowly turned toward the girl standing before him—the Sword Princess.
At this moment, Ais was still cloaked in the pitch-black storm of wind.
The power of the Avenger skill had traded away her reason for sheer overwhelming strength—enough power to face off evenly against Shirou in his normal state.
No doubt Hermes had further amplified her with divine enhancements through his "scripted story," stacking buff after buff to their maximum potential.
Because of this, Ais was no longer a mere gale—she was a howling tornado.
And that tornado, devoid of all reason, would annihilate everything in its path with mindless violence and brute strength, destroying all who dared stand before her.
That, no doubt, was Hermes' plan.
To ensure his story proceeded as intended, he had to keep Shirou—the one person capable of derailing the entire plot—trapped here. And for that, he chose Ais as the suppressing force to maintain the script's "order."
It had to be said—Hermes' choice was excellent.
Not only was Ais the only one who could fight Shirou one-on-one, but as someone trained by Shirou himself, she understood his swordsmanship better than anyone else. She knew how he fought. She knew how to counter his strange and ever-changing techniques.
Under normal circumstances, without relying on some trump card, Shirou would likely have had a hard time defeating her in direct combat. He might even have been forced into a prolonged stalemate.
At least, not until the Avenger effect wore off.
Which would mean Shirou wouldn't be able to reach the Xenos' battlefield in time to help.
If that happened, Hermes' plan would succeed completely—the Xenos would be slaughtered, and their blood used to mold the "hero" that Hermes desired.
But that was only in a typical situation.
Shirou, having already realized that Hermes was the mastermind behind this incident, had made plenty of preparations ahead of time—designing weapons specifically for fighting against gods.
And now, he was about to reveal his first trump card—to show the gods what human madness really looked like.
"BOOOOOM——!"
In the distance, Ais, under the influence of the Avenger, had lost all reason.
She noticed Shirou's transformation into the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs, but didn't retreat or hesitate for even a second. Instead, she shot forward at terrifying speed.
"!!!"
Her speed instantly reached its peak—so fast that ordinary eyes could no longer follow her. To onlookers, it was just a screaming black wind tearing across the battlefield.
And even then, her speed continued to rise, and rise—beyond the limit.
Fueled by the flames of vengeance, her body surpassed all natural restrictions.
She became a meteor—a black gale that reached Shirou in an instant to engage him in close combat.
But what happened next shocked everyone watching.
Despite the incredible, nearly invincible power Ais had drawn from the Avenger, her full-force attacks were completely nullified by Shirou.
No—"nullified" wasn't even the right word. Her strikes didn't affect him at all.
After invoking the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs, Shirou's body was no longer that of a human.
In this moment, his physical strength rivaled that of a Dungeon Floor Boss, a Monster Rex Like Goliath.
He absorbed Ais's relentless attacks—yet his entire body reacted as though she were punching a pillow. He wasn't even scratched.
"This is..."
Even Ais—her mind clouded by the black wind—was forced to acknowledge: this man had undergone a transformation far beyond what she could imagine.
Still, she refused to back down.
She refused to surrender.
Fueled by rage and hatred, she pressed forward, determined to carry her vengeance through to the end.
"Kill! I'll kill all the monsters! I won't leave a single one alive!"
Her hatred erupted into an overwhelming storm.
The black gale surrounding her howled upward like a hurricane, tearing into the sky.
Faced with her fury, Shirou remained unmoved.
It seemed he was feeling out this new power—perhaps even holding back a little, given his connection to Ais.
But Ais had long lost all reason. She couldn't afford mercy. She was no longer able to restrain herself. Like a raging tempest, she charged at Shirou with killing intent.
"Ugh—!?"
And yet, just as her sword was about to reach him—
Ais suddenly stopped.
She froze—like she had just sensed something utterly terrifying. Her instincts twisted violently inside her, forcing her sword to halt.
If one looked closely, her arm was trembling.
It was as though her body's instinctual sense of reason had detected something unfathomably dangerous—something her conscious mind could not comprehend—and was trying to reject it.
"!!!"
Still, despite the fear, Ais gritted her teeth and overcame it. She forced herself to swing once more—this time even faster, even harder than before.
With Wind Spirit acceleration, Avenger amplification, and divine enhancements unseen to the eye, Ais had now reached a level that made her one of the strongest warriors in all of Orario.
She unleashed her sword, pouring everything into a single, ultimate strike.
A blow that could pierce even a meteor.
"CRACK!"
And then—the unthinkable happened.
Her sword struck Shirou dead-on. With her terrifying acceleration, with all that accumulated power, this one attack should have torn Shirou apart.
But it didn't.
The blade met Shirou's body and came to a dead stop.
Her sword, driven by unstoppable force, had smashed into what felt like an immovable wall. Shirou didn't flinch. Didn't even react.
He hadn't tried to dodge.
Hadn't tried to parry.
He had simply let her hit him.
And still, her sword had no effect.
"AHH!"
Instead, Ais was the one who flew backward from the recoil.
"Impossible! This can't be happening!"
Even under the black wind's influence, Ais regained a moment of clarity—because she couldn't comprehend what had just occurred.
Her full-strength blow had barely scratched him.
No—not even that.
Shirou's body hadn't been affected at all.
The sheer difference in power was too great. Her blade couldn't pierce his defense in the slightest.
Shirou hadn't moved.
Hadn't fought back.
He had just stood there, and she still couldn't harm him.
"Do you understand now, Ais?"
Now fully adjusted to the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs form, Shirou finally spoke—his voice calm as he addressed the stunned Sword Princess.
"You're strong. You'll become even stronger. But right now, you still have one fatal flaw. And unless you fix that flaw, you will never become the strongest."
"What… are you talking about…"
Under the influence of the black storm, Ais furrowed her brow, her thoughts slipping into chaos—unable to properly process his words.
And though Shirou too was affected by his berserker state, his mind was still clearer than hers.
So he continued, calmly:
"Never use power you can't control. Never rely on strength that doesn't belong to you.
If you want to become stronger, do it with your own hands. Step forward with your own feet. Walk the path to your goal with your own strength.
That is the path of a true warrior."
Shirou's words reflected the reality of the moment.
Ais had activated [Avenger] and simultaneously gained the amplification of divine authority. This had indeed granted her unprecedented power—but it also meant she had gained strength that did not belong to her.
That was why Ais was constantly immersed in pain. Though she was fighting, she felt none of the exhilaration of battle. Instead, she was purely being tortured by herself.
Shirou could see the pain in Ais—hence why he made such a suggestion.
But his words were something Ais could not accept.
"Whose fault do you think this is!?" Ais's eyes widened, rage surging like a tidal wave. "Why did you have to stand there!? Why did you have to fight me!? I—I'm suffering so much, and yet… why couldn't you save me!? Why couldn't you be my hero!?"
"That, too, is one of your flaws," Shirou said, meeting Ais's furious eyes without flinching. "You're not someone meant to be protected. Right?
If, every time you encounter something you can't accept, you blame the heavens, curse fate, and let yourself collapse—then you would never have become the Sword Princess you are today.
So instead—use your sword to protect others.
More than being someone protected, you should become a hero for others."
"Impossible—it's impossible! Someone like me… how could I ever do that!?"
Ais still couldn't accept Shirou's words.
Her longing for a hero made it impossible for her to acknowledge what he was saying.
And Shirou had no intention of continuing to persuade her. He had already clearly conveyed his will.
If Ais, in her current state, still couldn't see the truth—then there was no need for him to waste another word.
After all—
Compared to Ais—who wasn't in actual danger—there were people who truly needed him to save them.
"I'm sorry."
Shirou quietly offered his apology.
Not only to Ais, but also to the members of the Loki Familia he had defeated. And to the many ordinary people who had been caught up in his calculations.
He knew full well that the path he was walking now might be one that went against justice.
But he had already once abandoned justice in the past. So if he had to abandon it again now—what of it?
If it was to protect those he should protect... if it was to save those who needed saving... then justice meant nothing to him.
He would simply do everything he needed to do, to the very best of his ability.
"Piercing Slaughter Spear."
Shirou slowly raised his right hand.
That arm, already engulfed in demonic power, seemed to sprout a crimson spear as if from nothing.
The spear was not the legendary Gae Bolg, though it resembled it in form. This was simply an ordinary long spear.
However, in the instant Shirou gripped it, took a few running steps, and raised it high into the air—
Everyone could feel it.
Like a violent storm—a shockwave burst forth!
It was pure strength. Pure speed.
No technique. No finesse.
Only raw physical might, pushed past the limits of mortal flesh to the point of brute-force extremity.
After Shirou's journey in the Dungeon, his level had already reached the absolute limit for an adventurer—perhaps even surpassed it.
And now, powered by the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs, he had broken through those limits again.
In this form, Shirou even believed he could fight against a true god.
Even if he couldn't win, he was confident he could force a god into a bitter struggle.
That was why Shirou had chosen the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs as his trump card against Hermes.
And now, by twist of fate, the first to witness this beast's power would be the Sword Princess—Ais.
So be it.
Shirou no longer cared.
He would let Ais—and all the gods—understand, deeply and clearly, the true might of the "Beast," and the madness it embodied.
"BOOOOM—!"
As the long spear flew from Shirou's hand, it pierced through space itself.
Between Shirou and Ais, countless fractures split the air like shattered glass—space itself seemed to be torn apart by the absurdity of the force, revealing its fragile nature.
Seeing this inconceivable shockwave, Ais's eyes flew wide. Reflexively, she raised her sword to block it.
But the instant she made that choice, she was filled with regret.
Because the moment the spear reached her—Ais felt it.
This was an attack that could not be blocked by her.
The force at the tip of the spear brought with it the scent of death—it made her feel the presence of the Grim Reaper itself.
She could feel death, like a corrosive poison, brushing against her body.
"Am I… going to die?"
That thought passed through Ais's mind.
Strangely, she felt no fear toward death.
The hatred she had once directed at Shirou, deep and consuming, faded in an instant.
Because in that fleeting moment when death drew near—
She suddenly realized she had made a mistake.
Not that she shouldn't have fought Shirou. Not that she shouldn't have lashed out at him.
No—
She had forgotten something crucial.
She shouldn't have lost faith in him.
Even if he protected monsters. Even if he stood against the Loki Familia.
Could a man named Emiya Shirou, who risked so much, really be on the path of evil?
Ais had forgotten the most important thing—
She had abandoned her trust in him.
She had let herself be consumed by rage, forgetting that what she needed was not just the will to seek revenge, but the heart to believe in someone important.
And as punishment for that foolish mistake—
She now faced an unreasonably cruel death.
Yet, strangely—
In that moment of confronting death, Ais felt no pain, no despair.
Instead, what she felt was a deep, almost instinctive sense of relief.
"This is fine... This can be the end..."
Ais closed her eyes.
And waited for the moment the spear of destruction would pierce her body.
But time passed.
And death never came.
Instead—
She found herself, somehow, being held in the arms of the very man she had fought.
That twisted face—belonging to the demonized Shirou—held her in one arm.
And with the other, he had caught the very spear he had thrown.
He had saved her from death—using a movement so exaggerated, so beyond reason, it defied belief.
"Good... You didn't resist at the end," Shirou said softly. "If you had, even a little... I wouldn't have made it in time."
As he spoke, the black gale surrounding Ais slowly dissipated.
Her lips trembled uncontrollably.
And in the last fragments of her consciousness, a single thought burst out from the depths of her heart—a question:
"Why...?"
Shirou responded, as if it were only natural:
"Because I must protect the people I should protect."
"Even if they're monsters?!"
"Even if they're monsters."
Shirou answered her calmly.
Then, he gently laid down the now heavily injured and powerless Ais on the ground.
He let her stare at him with eyes full of hatred.
He let her convey all her hope, despair, and frustration through that gaze.
But Shirou did not waver in the slightest.
"..."
The girl finally let out a pained voice.
But she understood.
She realized that she could never change Shirou's will.
And so, she slowly loosened her clenched fist.
She had completely lost the will to fight.
"I'm sorry."
Looking down at the defeated Ais, Shirou once again offered a quiet apology.
But he did not stop walking.
He turned his back to the battlefield in ruins—and left.
He had originally planned to immediately rush to the battlefield where the Xenos were, to assist Asterios, who might be facing a clash with the Freyja Familia.
But unexpectedly, someone appeared in his path—
A presence he hadn't accounted for.
The god Hermes stood before him, as if to question him. Blocking his only way forward.
"So you've come," Shirou said.
As if he had predicted it all along.
He raised his demonic arm calmly, his expression unwavering—even when standing against a god.
He had no hesitation.
And no fear.
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