Facing the Originium explosives flying toward him, Shirou reacted immediately.
The twin blades Kanshou and Bakuya, which he had originally intended to use for a counterattack, appeared in his hands. He swung them at high speed.
Using a Noble Phantasm purely for defense might have been a better option, but Shirou had already been preparing to project Kanshou and Bakuya. On top of that, he had not been calm enough to observe the opponent's movements, which was why he had been caught off guard.
Fortunately, Shirou dealt with the four Originium explosives at remarkable speed, preventing them from detonating.
At the same time, he seized the opportunity to charge straight toward the Ursus man in front of him.
From this position, as long as he eliminated the opponent and immediately deployed Rho Aias to block the direction of the main entrance, he should be able to prevent the Originium dust from spreading before everyone evacuated.
The space above had been too narrow earlier, which was why that approach had not been possible.
Originally, he had planned to trigger a Broken Phantasm using the Kanshou and Bakuya he had thrown at the opponent's feet to create an opening for his next move. However, the opponent seemed overly confident and stood there completely unguarded.
The distance between them closed instantly. Just as Shirou was thinking about where to strike, he noticed a slight curl at the corner of the opponent's mouth.
"Hmm!?"
Seeing that expression, Shirou realized something was wrong.
"Bye-bye~!"
The Ursus man threw the Originium explosive he had been waiting to use and immediately followed up with a shot from his crossbow.
If handled correctly and swiftly, the explosive would be neutralized just like the ones Shirou had dealt with earlier.
However, if he forced an attack, the explosive would detonate instantly.
Boom—
The Originium explosive exploded right in front of Shirou, and a massive amount of Originium dust instantly engulfed both of them.
The prepared Ursus man retreated immediately.
Although he still inhaled a small amount of Originium dust, he was already an Infected. Aside from his Oripathy worsening somewhat, it did not have a significant impact on him.
"Sora, support me!"
As the only member of Penguin Logistics who had brought a weapon inside, Texas gripped her Originium lightsword tightly and prepared to charge forward.
She had been helping evacuate the crowd earlier, assuming Shirou could handle it.
That assumption led directly to the current outcome.
They all knew what would happen to someone surrounded by such a large amount of Originium dust.
Just as Sora raised her staff to cast her Originium Arts in support of Texas, a hand grabbed Texas by the shoulder.
"Do you want to become Infected by rushing in like that? Leave it to a professional!"
Franka held Texas back.
She was not particularly angry. She was not close to the person involved, so what she felt was mostly regret.
But anyone witnessing this scene would feel the same regret for someone who had been trying so hard to protect others.
Regret that such a kind person would become Infected.
After all, the path of survival for the Infected was extremely harsh.
She knew that from personal experience.
She understood Texas's feelings, but charging in without any protective equipment would only result in becoming Infected.
As a former member of Blacksteel Worldwide's B.R.P.S. biohazard protection unit, carrying a spare protective mask was only natural.
She had long wanted to cut that Ursus man down with a single strike. That smug expression alone made her want to punch him.
And her partner was not stopping her this time. That was rare, and she intended to make the most of it.
Just as Franka was about to put on her mask and enter, the Originium dust swirling inside the building suddenly began to shift.
A large amount of Originium dust started converging toward the spot where Shirou had been.
At the center, Shirou was fully focused, gathering a massive amount of magical energy in both hands.
Time rewound by a few seconds.
At the moment of the explosion, the blast itself was not particularly powerful. It only left Shirou's clothes in tatters. Thanks to the reinforcement from projecting Kanshou and Bakuya, his body had not suffered significant damage.
However, being engulfed by such a dense cloud of Originium dust felt terrible. Shirou felt as though he were standing in a sea of flames.
The dust was like thick smoke, continuously invading his nose and mouth, irritating him without pause.
"So this is what it feels like to be infected?"
Shirou did not know what symptoms came with Oripathy. Perhaps this suffocating sensation, like inhaling smoke in a fire, was the precursor to infection.
Fortunately, the area covered by the Originium dust was not large. Only he and the Ursus man were within it.
At least no one else had been harmed because of his mistake…
Shirou showed no concern about the possibility of becoming Infected.
To him, whether he was Infected or not did not matter.
The priority right now was to eliminate that criminal immediately.
If his understanding was correct, their goal was to create panic in Lungmen.
That was why they had chosen a concert, a place crowded with people.
Their roles had been clearly divided. One person stayed outside to draw the attention of the Lungmen Guard Department, while four others planted explosives at the concert venue.
And those people even claimed they were doing it for the Infected…
Acting like this, Shirou did not even need to think to reach a conclusion.
Their actions would only make the situation of the Infected in Lungmen even more precarious.
One had to remember that Lungmen was already relatively tolerant toward the Infected. In other places, they might have long been driven out.
What these people were doing did not help the Infected in Lungmen at all. On the contrary, it would only make their lives even harsher.
With that in mind, Shirou prepared to project a Noble Phantasm and destroy the opponent along with the explosives in one strike. The moment he began the projection, he felt voices emerging from within his mind.
The screams of men, the shrieks of women, the cries of children…
Countless voices appeared all at once in his head, and at the same time he felt as though he could not breathe.
The intense pain forced all the air out of his lungs, leaving him completely unable to inhale.
"Ah… ah…"
Half-kneeling on the ground, Shirou no longer had the capacity to worry about his physical condition.
The images and voices flashing through his mind again and again continuously assaulted his nerves.
The suffering of the Infected upon this land.
The tears of the Infected upon this land.
And the anger of the Infected toward this land.
This sensation was not unfamiliar to Shirou. It was like coming into contact with All the World's Evil itself.
Overwhelming negative emotions relentlessly eroded him.
"I need to… deal with this first…"
Gritting his teeth, Shirou forced himself to ignore the voices and images.
Compared to All the World's Evil, this was nothing more than a drizzle, was it not?
He was not so fragile that he would collapse from something like this.
That was what he thought, but he realized he could not move at all.
His limbs would not obey him, let alone allow him to gather magical energy to use Projection Magecraft.
Pain and dizziness continued to wear down his willpower, even making him consider abandoning everything and leaving the rest to the Lungmen Guard Department.
Until he heard Texas's voice.
It seemed she intended to use Sora's Originium Arts for support and come help him.
But this place was dangerous… Would it not be enough to guard the entrance and prevent that man from escaping?
Then again, thinking about the personalities of everyone in Penguin Logistics, there was no way they would leave him alone in this cloud of Originium dust.
That would not do… Who would normally carry protective gear around? If they rushed in recklessly, they would become Infected.
With that thought, Shirou squeezed out the last bit of his strength.
He staggered to his feet and began to use Projection Magecraft.
"Do not look. Do not think. If you give up, someone will rush in to find you."
He kept muttering to himself, reminding himself over and over.
It seemed to work. As if he had hypnotized himself, the voices and images in his mind became blurred, and the piercing pain in his body lessened.
That was right. He was not alone. It would not be good if he collapsed here.
After all, he had spoiled the members of Penguin Logistics. Without him, they would probably struggle to take care of themselves for a while.
And there were also Rope and the children at the shop. He could not just abandon them. They depended on his income to live.
As for the Lungmen Guard Department… they might manage without him, but everyone would surely worry about him.
As scenes from his daily life flashed through his mind, Shirou's gaze gradually cleared and control over his body quickly returned.
At the same time, those negative emotions were suppressed.
"Hah…"
Letting out a deep breath, Shirou quickly understood why his condition had suddenly improved.
The shroud wrapped around his right hand was releasing magical energy.
Although this was his first time seeing such a phenomenon, it was undoubtedly the shroud's doing.
He tore off the tattered sleeve on his right arm, revealing the shroud beneath that emitted a blue glow of magical energy. Then he began to mobilize his power, gathering it into both hands.
Not Kanshou and Bakuya, his preferred weapons.
Not the longbow he had been using frequently lately.
Nor any other Noble Phantasm.
Shirou felt that the weapon he should project now was the sword that Chen always wore at her waist…Chi Xiao.
From the moment he first saw that sword, he had already grasped its structure.
He did not know why, but he felt that projecting this weapon now was the best choice.
However, he should not have been able to project weapons related to Originium.
The reason was simple. While he could replicate the outward form of Originium, he could not comprehend the substance within it.
But that did not matter. Right now, he was surrounded by Originium.
If he could not understand it, then he would simply borrow it.
Just as he always had—borrowed ideals, borrowed power…
Even if it was borrowed, at this moment, it belonged to him.
In his hands, spheres of magical energy continuously absorbed the surrounding Originium dust, gradually taking the shape of Chi Xiao.
The memories contained within that sword also began to surface in Shirou's mind.
Scenes of Wei Yenwu instructing Chief Chen in swordsmanship appeared in his mind.
Drawing the blade, Tear Edge, Night Rush, Raised Brow, Absolute Shadow, Cloud Split, Sky Gaze…seven distinct techniques.
The moment when Chief Chen first used Absolute Shadow, then woke up in the hospital and found Chi Xiao at her bedside.
The first time she tried to use Chi Xiao against an enemy, she could not draw it for some inexplicable reason. Fortunately, at a critical moment, Chi Xiao unsheathed itself, collapsing half of an underground parking structure. When it was drawn a second time, it opened a massive gateway.
Chief Chen attributed her inability to properly wield Chi Xiao to her own lack of effort and so she pushed herself to become faster and stronger.
Fragment after fragment of these memories surfaced within Shirou's mind.
At the same time, the shroud on Shirou's arm emitted an intense glow of magical energy, enveloping his entire body.
As the Originium dust dissipated, Shirou stood before everyone, holding a sword that radiated a crimson light.
The floral shirt that Hoshiguma and Swire had given him as a disguise had completely disappeared.
In its place were a red sleeve on his right arm, a black sleeveless tight-fitting top, and black trousers.
The red cloak wrapped around his waist fluttered continuously as magical energy surged through him.
"What!?"
Seeing the Originium dust vanish and Shirou standing there seemingly unharmed, the Ursus man was momentarily shaken.
But that panic quickly faded.
Because Shirou swung the Chi Xiao in his hand.
"Chi Xiao: Draw!"
Thrusting forward with the projected Chi Xiao, the man in front of him, along with the explosives on his body, was instantly split in two.
Even the structure behind him was cleaved open, leaving a massive hole.
The strike was so fast that to onlookers, Shirou appeared to move first, and only afterward did they hear the name of the technique.
"Wow, how did he change outfits in an instant? That is so cool!"
With the danger gone, Franka tore off her protective mask and stared at the scene with excitement.
Setting everything else aside, just based on that outfit alone, she would give a perfect score.
And with that red sword swing added in, she would rate it off the charts.
"Thank goodness…"
Unlike Franka, who only cared about appearances, the members of Penguin Logistics all let out sighs of relief when they saw that Shirou seemed unharmed.
Sora's eyes were even slightly red.
Meanwhile, Shirou stood there holding Chi Xiao, staring blankly at the scattered remains caused by his strike.
Walking forward, he picked up a long, thin strip of orange cloth from a severed arm.
He remembered what it was. Back on the snowy plains of Ursus, members of Reunion had worn the same thing tied around their arms.
So… the ones behind this entire plan were Reunion?
Before Shirou could think further, a wave of intense pain surged through him. Exhausted, his vision went black, and he collapsed straight backward.
His consciousness faded.