Daito stared at the remaining two, his face a picture of amusement. Amelia, still on her knees, trembled as she looked at what remained of Elliot—his lifeless, torn body lying in pieces. Her hands were shaking. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.
"No... it can't be," she whispered.
Daito took a step forward, his expression twisted into a cruel smile. "Don't worry," he said mockingly. "I'll send you both to join him soon."
Shirou's grip on Ashbringer tightened until his knuckles turned white. Blood dripped from his palm where the hilt bit into his skin. He looked at Amelia, then stuttered for the first time, voice cracking, "Amelia... get up already. I can't do this without you."
Amelia didn't move. Her gaze was fixed on Elliot's body. "But we can't win. He's… immortal."
Daito chuckled. "See? She gets it. Maybe she's smarter than you look—"
"Shut the hell up!" Shirou roared, cutting him off.
Daito raised a brow, amused. "Oh? Looks like someone's angry. What are you going to do? You're alone. Your ice guy is gone. Your support's broken. You can't win. You're just delaying the inevitable."
But Shirou didn't back down. He stepped forward, eyes burning. "He had a name. It was Elliot. And Amelia—she's not weak. She was the one who held this team together. We could fight recklessly, push ourselves to the edge, all because we trusted her. She was never just support. She was the core. And I still believe in her."
Amelia's breath caught in her throat. She looked at Shirou, saw the fire in his eyes—the same fire Elliot once had.
Slowly, she wiped the tears from her face and stood. Her knees still wobbled, but her back was straight. "Then let's finish this," she said softly.
Daito only laughed. "And how do you plan to do that? I told you, I can't die. I am immortal."
Shirou narrowed his eyes. "Cut the bullshit already. If you were truly immortal, you wouldn't have dodged any of our attacks. You wouldn't have bothered deflecting my blade. You dodged because you're afraid. You can bleed... You can fall."
For the first time, Daito's smirk faltered.
Then, his tendrils twitched—a signal he was about to strike. But Shirou was already moving.
"Ashbringer: Inferno Surge!" A vortex of flame burst forward, splitting the air.
Daito swung three tendrils at the flames, disrupting them, scattering the attack. "He used three tentacles to block... he's never done that before," Shirou noted. "With Elliot here, he couldn't afford to."
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
Thick stone walls erupted from the ground between Amelia and the incoming tendrils, buying just enough time for Shirou to reach her. He grabbed her arm and yanked her aside as the tendrils shattered the walls behind them.
"If he can heal from a pierced heart, there has to be something we're missing," Amelia said.
"We'll find it," Shirou replied calmly. "Just follow my lead. We're walking out of here alive."
She met his eyes and nodded. "Then let's kill him properly this time."
Daito roared and all five tendrils lashed out.
"Ashbringer: Phoenix Burst!" Flames exploded forward, blocking the tendrils for a moment. Daito responded by using two tendrils to disperse the flames.
Shirou and Amelia split up again, running in opposite arcs.
Daito laughed, "You're making it easier for me." Two tendrils shot toward Amelia. "Even if she blocks one, the other will strike."
From the left, Shirou appeared.
"Ashbringer: Inferno Burst!"
Another vortex of fire surged forward. Daito used three tendrils to swat it aside. But his expression twisted when one of those tendrils weakened.
"She hit it? Not the one chasing her, but the one aiming at him?"
He recoiled, retracting all the tendrils except one that shot towards Amelia and blocked the vortex of flame. The last one struck Amelia's abdomen. Blood spilt as the tendril sliced her side.
"Still think you can win?" Daito mocked.
Shirou came at him again.
"You never learn.Then die!" Daito shouted, launching two tendrils. But then he realised the Shirou in front of him was a clone. "From behind—he made a clone at the last second so I won't notice."
The real Shirou emerged just behind him. He had closed the gap with lightning speed.
Daito hurled the last two tendrils toward Shirou.
Shirou twisted his body, narrowly dodging the first—
—but the second shot straight for his heart.
But at the final moment, the tendril faltered, its strength fading mid-strike.
Daito's eyes widened in shock.
"Impossible… she shouldn't be able to use it again so soon."
"Ashbringer: Flame Edge!"
The sword burst into dark crimson flames. But Daito smirked as he abbed Shirou's wrist before the blade could pierce him, yanking Shirou up and slamming him face-first into the stone floor.
The ground cracked beneath the impact.
He lifted Shirou by gripping his face with one hand.
"You almost had me there," Daito muttered, a hint of amusement in his voice.
His gaze shifted to Amelia, who stood frozen, trembling, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"That was a clever trick," he said, then turned his attention back to Shirou. "She launched a slow-moving wave first, aimed at a specific point. After the cooldown, she fired a regular one. The normal wave took out my first tendril... and the delayed one hit the last—right as you lured it into position. But you forgot something.I' m stronger than the two of you.Yo u can't win."
"She actually made three waves," Shirou muttered.
Daito's eyes widened. "What?"
In that instant, Amelia's third mana-disrupting wave hit the hand Daito used to hold Shirou. The mana faltered.
Shirou's blade sliced through Daito's arm, severing it cleanly. He hit the ground and rolled away as the tendrils crashed down where he had just been.
Daito screamed in rage.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
All five tendrils lashed out in a blur, but Shirou didn't retreat. He ran toward them"Well, it was a gamble.He never would've guessed my sword—without Flame Edge—could actually cut him.Bu t with Amelia disrupting his mana, it wasn't that hard.No w... time to finish this",
"Come on, Amelia... now!",Sh irou roared.
Just as the tendrils neared, they weakened—all at once.
Daito's eyes shot open. "No! She hit my back—where the tendrils connect! She disrupted the source!"
Daito raised his other arm in panic, but Shirou ducked under it.
"Ashbringer: Flame Edge!"
With a roar, the sword slashed through Daito's neck. Flames scorched the air as his head fell from his shoulders. His body collapsed.
Amelia stumbled forward. "We... we did it."
Shirou didn't move. His eyes stayed locked on the body. "No. He isn't dead yet."
He glanced at the sword. No notification. Nothing.
Then they saw it.
A black tendril emerged from the stump of Daito's neck, grabbed his head, and pulled it back onto the body. Flesh and bone twisted, reconnected.
Daito opened his eyes as he slowly rose up again.
Shirou and Amelia took a step back, their faces pale.
Then the tendrils lashed out faster than before.