Emiya Reaches God-Tier Again! Projecting the [Sword of Rupture]
Orario Eastern Wasteland, War Game Central Battlefield.
BOOM!!!
With a deafening explosion, a red figure flew backward like a cannonball, plowing a hundred-meter-long trench into the ground until it finally smashed through a massive obsidian boulder and came to a halt.
"...!"
Shirou Emiya knelt amidst the rubble, coughing up mouthfuls of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. His hands were trembling violently; [Kanshou and Bakuya] had long since shattered into motes of light. The muscle fibers in his arms had completely torn during the previous collision, and even his bones emitted an overburdened creak.
"Is this... just a Lv. 7's auto-attack?" Shirou laughed grimly, using [Structural Reinforcement] to forcibly stabilize his fractured bones. The pain felt like dipping his nerves directly into lava. "This isn't swordsmanship... it's like someone swinging a city wall at me. Does the developer even do balance testing for stat-monsters like this?"
At the center of the battlefield, Ottar remained in his single-handed sword-swinging stance. The [Black Blade of Dominance] in his hand radiated a suffocating black mana. He stood like an immovable mountain, his breathing perfectly steady. His composed attitude was like a max-level character strolling through a beginner's village, casually swatting a slime.
"Your technique is excellent." Ottar's voice was terrifyingly calm. "Whether it's parrying, blocking, or counter-attacking, you are perfect. In the realm of skill, you have even surpassed me. That ability to read attacks and react in advance is truly commendable."
"However..." Ottar took a step forward, and the earth trembled as if the planet itself feared his stride. "In the face of absolute power, technique has its limits. As long as my power exceeds the upper limit of what you can 'deflect'... there is only death for you."
Simple. Brutal. But it was the truth. This was the despair of "Level Suppression." It was like trying to achieve a "no-damage" run with perfect micro-management, only for the boss to hit you with a screen-wide AOE that deletes you instantly, defying all logic.
"...!"
Shirou gritted his teeth, and the Magic Circuits in his body roared with overload once more, like a scrapped engine giving its final howl. Although Haruhime's [Uchide no Kozuchi] had granted him temporary Lv. 4 mana and physical stats, and despite his terrifying SSS-tier foundations, he remained as fragile as paper before the Lv. 7 monster standing at the peak of Orario.
"Trace (Sync)——Overload!"
Shirou lunged to his feet, hands gripping the air. This time, he didn't choose ordinary twin blades. Facing a heavy-armor warrior like this, he needed firepower capable of breaking through defenses.
"Since I can't match you in quality... I'll fill the gap with 'God-Constructed' weapons!"
Golden radiance converged in his hands. A holy sword burning with the fire of the sun—[Excalibur Galatine (The Sword of Revolving Victory) - Pseudo-Projection]—manifested. Although it was only a B+ rank projection, with the blessing of his [Mystery] skill, the searing heat melted the rocks beneath his feet, and the surrounding air distorted instantly.
"Take this! Ottar!"
Shirou's body surged forward, transforming into a golden meteor aimed straight for Ottar's heart. This strike condensed all his strength, moving at a speed where even [Mind's Eye] could only catch a fading shadow.
"Too slow."
Ottar didn't even blink. He swept the Black Blade of Dominance in a casual arc. The motion was like shooing away an annoying mosquito.
CLANG!!!
The solar flames were instantly crushed. The holy sword shattered like glass the moment it touched the Black Blade, turning into a cloud of golden dust. The massive impact force pierced through Shirou's defense and slammed directly into his chest.
Bang!
Shirou was sent flying again. This time, he tumbled through the air a dozen times before hitting the ground hard, bouncing like a ragdoll. His ribs were shattered, his lungs punctured, and his vision turned blood-red from the massive hemorrhage.
"Dammit... can't even break his defense?" Shirou struggled to crawl up, but his body no longer obeyed. "Not... finished... yet..."
"It's over." Ottar walked up to him and raised the giant sword high. Dark red mana condensed on the blade's edge—the prelude to Ottar's ultimate move, [Hildis Vini (Strike of the Black Boar)]. The density of that mana was enough to pulverize this wasteland along with the tectonic plates beneath it.
"As a warrior, I admire your will." Ottar looked at Shirou without pity, only the respect due to the dead. "Therefore, I shall use my strongest strike to send you on your way."
The shadow of death loomed over him. [Mind's Eye (True)] was alarming frantically, red warning boxes filling his vision as if the system were screaming: [Game Over, please insert coin to continue].
He couldn't block it. Even [Rho Aias] would be like wet tissue paper before this strike.
"Am I going to lose?" Shirou's peripheral vision scanned the battlefield. Finn and the others were locked in a bitter struggle with the Freya elites. Ais was pinned down by Allen. Lili and Haruhime watched from the rear, faces pale with terror.
If he lost, the Loki Familia would lose. He would be taken away, turned into Freya's collection piece, locked in a golden cage without freedom. And everyone else...
"Are you... KIDDING ME?!"
An unprecedented madness surged from the depths of Shirou's soul. Since conventional means couldn't win. Since a "sword" couldn't cut down this mountain. Since, in this world of the Age of Gods, mortal power had a limit.
Then he would use... that. The "taboo" locked in the deepest part of his memories that even Heroic Spirit EMIYA dared not touch lightly. The treasure of the "Oldest King" he had witnessed during the Fifth Holy Grail War.
"Although Archer said it was impossible to analyze...
Although it is the pinnacle of God-Constructed armaments, an out-of-spec weapon that can only be held by the owner of the King's Treasure..."
Shirou's eyes snapped open. The amber in his pupils faded, replaced by a dark red that seemed to burn with chaos. It was the resolve of self-destruction.
"But... if it's the current me...If it's me, who possesses the 'Mystery' development ability and has reshaped my physical body in this Age of Gods...
Even if for just one second!
Even if for just one strike!
Even if the price is... the total collapse of my body and the shattering of my soul!"
"Trace (Sync)——Start!"
Shirou did not project a weapon. He reached his right hand out and gripped the air in front of him. The surrounding atmosphere suddenly began to vibrate violently. It wasn't wind; the space itself was wailing. It was as if something was being forced into this world, and the laws of the world were rejecting its descent.
"Hmm?" Ottar, prepared to strike, paused. As a veteran warrior, he felt an unprecedented chill. It wasn't a threat to his flesh. It was... a threat to "existence" itself. It was like facing the abyss, facing the end of the world.
"What... are you doing?" Ottar asked in a low voice, his giant sword actually trembling slightly. This was the first time since becoming Lv. 7 that he felt an instinctive shudder.
Shirou didn't answer. His skin began to crack, and blood sprayed out like a fountain, instantly dyeing his clothes red. It was the sign of Magic Circuits collapsing under an immense load.
His brain felt as if it were being stirred by a red-hot iron rod; the agony nearly made him lose consciousness. Yet, as if he lacked the sense of pain, he stared fixedly at the void in his hand.
He was analyzing. Analyzing the "un-analyzable."
[Identifying the concept of creation.] — It is the void before the beginning of heaven and earth. It is chaos, disorder, the primordial hell before the birth of stars.
[Envisioning the basic structure.] — It is the rotation that divides heaven and earth. It is the truth that cleaves the world.
[Duplicating the composition materials.] — Unable to duplicate. Material unknown. Incomprehensible. It is substance from before the Age of Gods, a realm untouchable by humanity.
[WARNING: Mental load exceeded. Soul is collapsing. Sanity dropping to zero.]
"F***ing... UNDERSTAND IT!!!"
Shirou roared in his heart. Since the material couldn't be understood, he would fill it with mana! Use his blood, his bones, his life to fill the gap! Even if it was the fake of a fake, even if it was just a hollow shell! As long as it could manifest... as long as he could swing it once!
"GAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
With a shrill scream, Shirou's right arm completely exploded into a bloody mess, exposing white bone. But in that palm consisting only of bone and sinews, a bizarre "sword"... no, a strange weapon composed of three rotating cylindrical segments, black with red patterns, slowly emerged.
It had no blade. There were only those segments rotating incessantly, radiating dark red wind pressure. It was the key to cleaving the world. The First Truth.
[Sword of Rupture, Ea (Enuma Elish) - Pseudo-Projection]
Although it was only a projection. Although it had less than a tenth of the original's output. Although its very existence was repelling the world, consuming ten years of Shirou's lifespan for every second it existed:
It appeared.
VROOOOM!!!
A surge of dark red wind pressure exploded with Shirou as the center. This pressure didn't just blow objects away; it caused visible cracks in the surrounding space. Like a shattered mirror, black fissures appeared in the air.
The entire battlefield went deathly silent.
"Wh-What... is that thing?!"
On the distant battlefield, [White Elf] Hedin, who was in the middle of casting, dropped his staff with a clack. The hand he used to push his glasses was shaking violently, and his eyes, usually calm and wise, were filled with terror.
"That mana fluctuation... it's not magic! It's... Divine Will? No, it's older than Divine Will! It's... the 'Primordial' of the world! What on earth has this human summoned?!"
"This aura..." [Dark Elf] Hogni stopped his chuuni chanting. He stared at the rotating, strange sword, cold sweat soaking his back.
"Dainsleif is... afraid? This cursed sword is actually trembling?! It's wailing... it's submitting to that thing?!"
"You've got to be kidding..." Allen nearly lost his grip on his spear. "That Lv. 3 kid... what kind of monster did he pull out?! Is that something a human can truly control?!"
It wasn't just the Freya Familia. The Loki Familia was in the same state of shock.
"Is that... a sword?" Tiona held her head, feeling her instincts screaming.
"It doesn't look like it's meant for cutting people... it looks like... it's for cleaving the world apart?"
"Emiya?!" Ais looked toward him, her unease reaching a peak. She felt that the red-haired youth's flame of life was burning away rapidly. If that sword swung, the existence known as Shirou Emiya might vanish entirely.
At the top of Babel, Freya, who had been watching via the Mirror of the Gods, suddenly stood up. The wine glass in her hand was crushed to powder, the red wine spilling onto the carpet. "That is..." Freya's pupils contracted, her face showing an unprecedented mix of ecstasy and terror.
"Is that... the light of the Star of Creation?! Although weak, although a fake... he actually touched that realm?!"
"Ah... ahh..." The Goddess hugged her own arms, her body trembling with extreme excitement. "Wonderful... simply wonderful! Shirou Emiya! You really are... my destined 'partner'!"
-
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Back on the battlefield.
"Ottar."
Shirou looked up. Half his face was covered in blood, his right eye blinded by the mana backlash, leaving only his left eye flashing with a mad light. He looked like a Shura crawled out from hell.
"Didn't you want to see... my 'Infinity'?"
He raised the Sword of Rupture, which was rotating madly and tearing the surrounding space. The three cylinders began to counter-rotate, emitting a roar like a millstone grinding souls. Dark red mana gathered like a nebula, gravity began to fail, and debris floated in the air before being ground to dust.
"This is... my final trump card.
Take this..."
Shirou poured all his remaining mana—including the level-boosted mana from Haruhime and the mana converted from burning his life force (Od)—into the sword.
The cylinders accelerated. The red wind pressure became a literal storm. The sky changed color. The originally clear night sky was suddenly dyed blood-red. Cracks appeared in space, revealing the pitch-black void behind them.
"Enuma..."
Ottar's expression changed. Completely. He dropped his giant sword and tensed every muscle to the limit. His instincts as a Lv. 7 told him—if he didn't run, he would die. Truly die. This strike wasn't aimed at a person. It was aimed at "space" itself.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Ottar roared, red aura exploding from his body. But he didn't run. Because he was the [Warlord]. He concentrated all his power into his arms and took a defensive stance.
"...ELISH -The Star of Creation that Splits Heaven and Earth!!!"
BOOM——!!!
Shirou Emiya swung his arm down.
There was no sword light. No slash. There was only a... dark red spatial fault that devoured everything.
The earth was cleaved. The air was cleaved. Even the distant clouds were sliced in half by this strike. It was as if a red "delete" key had been pressed on the world.
The red torrent, carrying the will to destroy the world, roared toward Ottar, toward Freya's fortress, toward the world itself.
At that moment, all of Orario went quiet. Everyone saw that red pillar of light tearing through heaven and earth. It was proof of a mortal... touching the taboo.
It was also the deepest scar left on this Age of Gods by the man named "Shirou Emiya."
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A long time later. The storm subsided.
In the center of the battlefield, a bottomless canyon appeared. At the end of the canyon, Ottar was still standing. But his armor was completely pulverized, his arms were a bloody mess, and his entire body looked like charred coal. He had blocked it. With his Lv. 7 body, he had barely withstood this weakened version of the "Star of Creation."
At the other end, Shirou Emiya lay in a pool of blood. The Sword of Rupture had long since dissipated. His right hand was gone, leaving only an empty sleeve.
But he had won. Because behind him, the flag representing the Freya Familia... had been torn to shreds by the red storm.
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