Chapter 24: Gungnir!
If only I could get my hands on that Divine Artifact...
The moment that thought arose, Shirou quickly calmed his restless mind. He was currently fighting one of the incredibly powerful Twelve Olympian Gods of the "Heretic Gods." If he tried to snatch the artifact directly, not only would it be difficult to succeed, but he might also suffer heavy injuries in the process.
"There must be another way to seize that thing..."
Having set his sights on Hephaestus's Divine Artifact, Shirou's mind became hyper-active as he began to devise a counter-strategy. While his thoughts whirled, he did not forget to maintain a continuous offensive against the god.
As the Caliburn in his hand reached its limit and was about to shatter, Shirou's will flickered. Countless swords embedded in the surrounding wasteland uprooted themselves, soaring into the sky until the firmament above Hephaestus was blackened by an endless canopy of blades.
"What is this!?"
Hephaestus, who had been pouring divine power into his white Greatsword to defeat Shirou in one fell swoop, suddenly sensed the treasures filling the sky. He was instantly reminded of the weapons that had destroyed his metal giants earlier.
"That Godslayer... he can actually manipulate so many swords!?"
Then, before Hephaestus's horrified gaze, the sky-full of Noble Phantasms—trailing azure wakes like a meteor shower—descended abruptly like a torrential rain!
Faced with this downpour of blades, Hephaestus swung the forge hammer in his other hand, slamming it violently into the ground.
As the hammer struck, Shirou felt the world tilt. The entire space shook once more. The earth of the wasteland cracked open, revealing an endless void beneath, but due to Hephaestus's Authority, flames erupted from the fissures, surging skyward to engulf the descending treasures.
"As expected of the God of Fire and Craftsmen, his control over flames is immense...!"
Shirou was inwardly awed. Simultaneously, the Eternal Distant Golden Sword in his hand finally reached its breaking point, shattering into stray sparks of light that dissipated from his grip.
Without the golden sword's resistance, the white-hot pillar of light from Hephaestus's weapon surged forward toward Shirou. Magical energy exploded beneath Shirou's feet, turning him into a blur as he vanished from the spot, evading the impact. In that same instant, he manipulated even more sword-type Noble Phantasms to strike at Hephaestus's body.
Within this Unlimited Blade Works, Shirou's ability to manipulate Noble Phantasms was vastly enhanced, and this mental landscape could shift according to his every whim.
Even with two powerful weapons in hand and unmatched martial prowess, Hephaestus could not block every single treasure rushing at him from all directions. Ultimately, many blades broke through his defense. Currently, Hephaestus had dozens of Noble Phantasms embedded in him, making him look like a hedgehog. Golden divine blood—the color of energy reaching its zenith—flowed from his wounds.
"To push me to such a state... you damned Godslayer!"
Despite his injuries, Hephaestus showed no sign of flagging; instead, he grew more courageous, his golden divine power flaring even brighter.
"It's not over yet!"
Declaring this, Shirou raised his right hand without hesitation.
"Broken Phantasm!"
Tyrannical magical energy obliterated the swords stuck in Hephaestus's body. The massive release of mana in an instant dealt a heavy blow even to a Heretic God.
BOOM!
Inside the scorching storm of magical energy, Hephaestus's physical form was being ground away, only to be instantly reconstructed by the divine body's powerful self-healing factor. He was trapped in a cycle of repeated, agonizing reconstruction and destruction.
"GRAAAH!!!"
Hephaestus let out a sky-shaking roar. Flames erupted across his body as he discarded his forge hammer and charged toward Shirou, brandishing only the pure white Greatsword!
His incredibly swift form left a trail of fiery afterimages across the wasteland. Arriving before Shirou, he swung the Greatsword with immense force. Facing this overwhelming strike, Shirou fearlessly projected another Caliburn to meet it.
CLANG!
The two clashed again. Their figures flew across the wasteland, engaging and separating multiple times, leaving behind countless trails of radiant gold and azure light. Their power grew stronger and their speed faster until they were difficult to distinguish with the naked eye. Driven by high battle spirit, their speed reached sub-light levels, their bodies turning into chaotic lines of gold and blue crisscrossing the wasteland!
After hundreds of short-range exchanges, the golden sword in Shirou's hand finally shattered once more, dissolving into points of light.
However, in this infinite wasteland, Shirou was never short of weapons. He casually pulled Excalibur Galatine from the ground and met Hephaestus again.
[Excalibur Galatine: The Sword of Revolving Victory]
Rank: A+ Type: Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm Description: The shining sword of light. A holy sword with a pseudo-sun sealed within its hilt. By pouring in magical energy, the blade can extend to the limit of one's vision.
The battle grew more intense. Every collision of weapons caused space itself to vibrate. As the God of Craftsmen, Hephaestus possessed formidable strength, but Shirou's raw power was superior. Even so, because his weapons were a tier lower, the battle remained a stalemate.
Yet, alongside the relentless close-quarters combat, Shirou divided his focus to manipulate the swords of the wasteland to fly and weave around the battlefield. Countless swords fell around Hephaestus and detonated; the resulting magical explosions made even this Great God's heart tremble.
CLANG!
Blades met once more, sending brilliant sparks flying. Fissures began to appear in the Reality Marble due to the intensity of their struggle. The wounds on Hephaestus's body continued to multiply. While Shirou's physical toughness was on par with or even greater than a Heretic God, Hephaestus's EX-rank Divine Artifact was still managing to inflict damage on him.
Even so, Shirou's fighting spirit remained incredibly high, much to Hephaestus's disbelief.
"Such a powerful body... even a Godslayer shouldn't possess this. You... just who are you!?"
"Can't you people ask a different question for once!?"
Shirou was somewhat speechless as he looked at the God of Fire. Materialized azure magical energy poured from his body incessantly, making it look as though he were wreathed in blue flames.
Shirou's figure suddenly rose into the air.
"Trace On... Gungnir!"
In Shirou's hand, a golden spear materialized.
[Gungnir: The Declaration of the Great God]
Rank: A++ Type: Anti-God Noble Phantasm
This Noble Phantasm is the "Spear of Destiny" held by the Norse chief god, Odin. Its power is exceptionally vast; once thrown, it moves like a meteor and is a guaranteed kill against its target.
In the past, Shirou could never have projected this weapon. But now, it was not difficult for him. He could now project any type of Noble Phantasm below EX-rank and match the level and quality of the original. Projecting an A++ Noble Phantasm was the current limit of what Unlimited Blade Works could achieve.
Gripping Gungnir, Shirou hurled the spear violently down at Hephaestus.
Swoosh—!
Hephaestus swung his white Greatsword, shattering the falling spear into dust. "Is that all!?"
As Hephaestus spoke, his pupils were flooded with golden light in the next second. The heavens glowed and the earth brightened!
Tens of thousands of Gungnirs were descending like a torrential rain!
This time, Hephaestus finally found it impossible to defend. Golden spears streaked across the sky like a meteor shower, piercing into his body. Simultaneously, Shirou detonated these A++ rank Noble Phantasms without hesitation.
Terror-inducing magical energy destroyed the spear shafts and released a discharge that swallowed everything!
BOOM!!!
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