If one had to use a familiar video game skill to describe the current scene, then Shirou's Noble Phantasm—a storm of swordlight as he spun through the air—could perhaps be likened to the Blademaster's ultimate "Blade Storm" from Warcraft III.
Boom boom boom—!
Flashes of swordlight roared like a violent storm, sharp and lethal, swirling upward to shield against the collapsing building debris above. The storm tore through the wreckage like a grinder, reducing deadly chunks of concrete to dust and gravel, raining down like a dark storm.
Among those present, not a single person was a loyal Blizzard fan. At best, some of the gangsters were veteran pachinko players or casino regulars… They could only gape in awe at the power that far exceeded human limits, changing the environment itself—while simultaneously fleeing for their lives.
Because really, what else could they do?
You expect them to hold their puny firearms and face an enemy who could level a building with a wave of his hand?
That would be suicidal… Even if the Yatsushiro Family offered great worker's comp, none of them were looking to die.
What followed was unknown to the fleeing crowd. All they could hear were continuous explosions and sharp slicing sounds. Though tempted to look back, instinct told them not to—just the tremors beneath their feet were enough to paint a terrifying picture of the battle's intensity.
But it was a shallow imagination, nothing more. One taut nerve kept their minds from wandering. Somewhere deep down, they feared that if they turned around, they'd lose their last chance at life.
It was like the tale in Genesis: when God rained fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family were warned not to look back. But his wife did—and turned into a pillar of salt.
Mao Shengzhen felt her legs going numb from running, but forced herself to keep going.
Like Forrest Gump in the movie she once watched, something drove her forward: "Run. If you don't run, you won't survive." Anything was better than standing there and getting crushed by flying debris.
She had already committed Shirou's face to memory. She didn't know who he was, but with her connections from years of part-time work, she was confident she could dig up some intel on him eventually.
Unlike her, the boss of the Musashi Group—who was sprinting even harder—had an inkling. Though he wasn't part of the Yatsushiro Family's core, he'd heard whispers of a certain noble-blooded "Emperor" within the clan.
He'd never met Genjiro, the head of the main family, but seeing Shirou's overwhelming power—beyond any normal mixed-blood—he began to speculate:
Could this savior be the Yatsushiro Family's legendary "Amateru no Mikoto"!?
He didn't know what that bloodline truly meant. But a man wielding such godlike power, fighting like a mythic hero—surely he must be that one.
———
Amid the roaring wind and dancing swordlight, Shirou had no idea that a new group of people was busy filling in their own headcanons about him.
At the moment, he was… still spinning violently.
This technique—Fivefold Transmission: Joyous Castle・Icicle Sever—once used by Ushiwakamaru in the FGO event "The Demonic Capital," involved spinning like a top to push cutting power to absurd levels. She even used it to slice an enemy Noble Phantasm in half.
Shirou had to stay hyper-focused while rotating, fully activating his Mind's Eye. Without that, he might've lost all sense of direction mid-spin.
Clang—!
His "blade storm" clashed with a long, multicolored whip. The soft yet deadly whip quickly retreated, but Shirou chased it relentlessly, striking toward Attila's main body along the whip's trajectory.
BOOM!
He crashed into the position he had predicted, blasting through the floor and sending debris flying. Even reinforced concrete and steel beams were no match. His entire body plunged into the underground.
Screech—!!
Attila hadn't expected this move and had to dodge quickly, but she still managed to parry Shirou's attacks with the Sword of Mars, her remarkable combat skills on full display.
Unfortunately, her light armor wasn't built for this level of battle—it tore apart under the relentless storm of slashes.
...
Eventually, Shirou's Noble Phantasm ran out of steam. He rose from the city's underground maintenance tunnel and looked through the gaping hole in the ceiling, catching a glimpse of Attila clutching her chest, hair fluttering in the wind.
Did… her clothes explode?
The tanned girl shot him an annoyed glare, then quickly fled into the darkness.
Shirou leapt back onto the surface, searching all around—but the mysterious Servant had vanished without a trace.
Instead, the rumble of rotors filled the air. Looking up, Shirou spotted a UH-60JA helicopter approaching, its steel frame slicing through the wind.
A rope ladder dropped right in front of him.
At the top, waving, was someone he recognized—Yatsushiro Genjiro's assistant, Yabuki Sakura.
———
Natsumi slowly woke up inside the cavern. She checked her clothes—intact. Only then did her anxiety ease a little.
She tapped twice on the rock wall. From above, a grotesque bat-like weasel creature fluttered down and respectfully handed her a camera.
Reviewing the footage of Attila's fight, Natsumi seemed satisfied. But her brow soon furrowed again. Ignoring Fenrir who was spacing out near the Greater Grail, she activated a remote alchemy array—a direct line to Norton.
"What now?" Norton groaned. "Let me guess. You couldn't wait to field test Attila? If nothing went wrong, don't bother me."
"There weren't any problems," Natsumi admitted. "But why does the interface require me to link my consciousness to control her? Can't she just move on her own?"
"…Do you hear yourself?" Norton replied. "You asked for a puppet. You and your brother's identities are both tied to the Huns' king. If I gave Attila a full consciousness, wouldn't she just be a knockoff Hun emperor?"
Natsumi pouted. "Still…"
"I get what you're saying. But to create even a soulless shell, I had to tap into the White King's Authority. That risks breaking the seal on his soul. If I'd made her fully conscious, we could've had a disaster on our hands. Just keep watching the Greater Grail for now—"
"No, listen!" she interrupted. "If that's too risky, can you at least redesign the interface? Let me become Attila!"
She meant she wanted to summon Attila directly into her own body. That way, she could transform into the Servant instead of linking remotely—avoiding the risk of leaving her real body unguarded.
In the Nasuverse, this would be a "Pseudo-Servant."
Like Ishtar possessing Rin, or Zhuge Liang possessing Waver.
"…Not impossible," Norton admitted, "but no test subjects exist."
"Is that a problem?"
"You volunteering for the first trial?" he asked.
Natsumi stiffened, raised her hands in mock salute:
"…Then never mind! Let's find a disposable Master during the Grail War. If it works, then I'll try!"
Norton continued, "One more thing—if you go that route, you'll lose the ability to spirit form."
"Huh?"
"When you were controlling Attila, did you get hit by gunfire?"
"Yeah, but I didn't feel threatened… Wait, you mean that ghost-like intangibility?"
"Exactly. Servants are spiritual entities. That's why they can phase through walls and ignore bullets."
He explained: Heroic Spirits are made from purified spiritrons, processed through alchemy into a high-energy state beyond the four classical elements. Thus, their spiritual body lets them achieve physical intangibility.
In the dragon world, most hybrids only understood this through Philosopher's Stones—solidified spiritrons harvested from dragon remains, deadly even to dragon kings.
More advanced dragons could implant souls into weapons to create "living armaments."
But shaping a soul into an independent existence? That was nearly impossible—unless one wielded the White King's authority.
"Spirit form is only possible for Servants," Norton concluded. "If you merge Attila into your body, you lose that."
———
"So you saw the enemy but couldn't hit them?"
Inside the helicopter, Shirou—still exhausted after multiple Noble Phantasm activations—spoke with Yabuki Sakura and two operatives, Karasu and Yasha.
Karasu shouted over the roar of the engines:
"We used an M240 on the injured target, but they didn't even react. Just disappeared!"
"Of course it didn't work. Heroic Spirits are spiritual beings. Purely physical attacks are useless."
"Heroic Spirits?" Karasu and Yasha exchanged confused glances.
"They're summoned souls of the dead," Shirou explained curtly. "They're not physical entities. That's why they can ignore bullets."
He wasn't in the mood to explain in detail.
"Spirit form means they're literally spirits. The term 'Heroic Spirit' comes from Norse mythology—Einherjar, Odin's warriors."
"…?"
Yasha blinked, brain buffering.
But Karasu suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh! Like those horror movie ghosts in The Ring or Ju-On! Guns don't work 'cause the bullets go right through!"
Yasha turned and glared. "What the hell are you talking about, you nerd?"
"Glad you get it," Shirou said. "Go report to Genjiro. Tell him these Heroic Spirits are tied to the Oni Mask Clan. They're coming for us."
He remembered what he'd discussed with Kazama Ruri—the Oni Mask Clan's "King General."
"The Holy Grail War… is beginning."
(End of Chapter)
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