"Heh, but of course! My son's swordsmanship is exquisite. Mere evil spirits? In but a moment he'll lop off their heads!" Uesugi Yue burst into a Kabuki-style chant, though his voice was far from anything resembling a trained actor's. His tone was raspy, cracked, and hopelessly off-key—like a tone-deaf man torturing his friends and family with bad singing.
Beside him, Angra quietly pressed his lips together and discreetly covered his ears to endure the ordeal. When Yue finally stopped his grating song, Angra asked:
"But didn't your son say it was an invasion of Ghosts? Why has it turned into a field full of Dead Apostles? Are these Dead Apostles the result of fallen Ghosts? Or did the Ghosts unleash them from somewhere?"
The possibility of "Dead Apostles being raised" never crossed Angra's mind. In his knowledge, even if Dead Apostles could be bred and multiplied, they could never be controlled in battle. Their bloodlust was too great—they killed indiscriminately, friend or foe alike.
What? Someone wants to command Dead Apostles in an assault? In that case, one moment he's shouting "Charge!" and the very next moment, the Dead Apostles nearby would just as easily tear him apart.
Yue said, "Anyway, it won't be people from the Eight Families of Orochi. Without external interference, degeneration into ghostification takes a long time. According to the family standards of the Orochi—what they call their 'house rules'—anyone whose bloodline shows signs of instability would be executed long before complete ghostification…"
"So you understand now? This clan is far colder and more decisive than you imagine. If I didn't still have a son here, I wouldn't have returned at all."
Angra said nothing. He stepped over corpses and pressed his palm against a window frame. Beyond, the neon sea of Shinjuku blurred into a flowing galaxy under the night.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing. By design, Genji Heavy Industries is a standard office building—it could hold quite a lot of employees. Yet in this invasion, none chose to break the doors or windows to flee. Seems your Shadow Emperor son made timely arrangements for evacuation routes."
Yue's face beamed with pride, as though it was his own teaching. "Of course. Though young, Chisou always acts thoroughly. He was born fit to rule—he would never let the clan fall into needless danger."
"But then, why are there strange vibrations…" Angra felt an unsettling tremor through his fingertips on the frame. Looking out, he noticed red and blue flashes streaking through the neon glow—beautiful arcs, yet disturbingly sinister…
"Something's wrong…" His heart skipped. He turned to Yue—only to notice behind Yue, outside the opposite window, several inhuman figures streaking at terrifying speed, locked in combat. Those red and blue lights weren't neon at all, but the overlapping clashes of battle!
And the figures weren't shrinking into distant specks—they were rapidly growing larger. They were coming this way!
"Not good! Move!"
Angra grabbed Yue's shoulder. "Time Zero" activated, plunging the world into 1/50th-speed slow motion. Not only himself, but those within his domain could enter the same state. A divine technique for infiltration, assassination, and team support alike!
Still dazed, Yue was pulled along as the two old men bolted out the main doors at impossible speed under the 50x time differential. A moment later proved Angra's judgment correct—
Of the three battling Servants, the demon-girl Ibaraki Douji swung her massive claw. Flames danced within her palm, swelling higher, alive, consuming everything flammable, transforming the entire hall into a sea of orange fire.
Another combatant—a knightly girl in armor, Melusine—wielded a white mana lightsword, glowing with a ghostly blue aura, dueling alongside the demon's long blade against the famous Heian warrior Watanabe no Tsuna, who bore the famed Oni-slaying sword, Onikiri.
Sparks and sword-ki scattered like wind and water. Dead Apostle corpses brushed by their strikes disintegrated to dust. Columns, beams, floors, ceilings—shattered. Their clash was a storm tearing through the first floor, collapsing it into ruin!
Melusine soared freely into the air, swooping down like a hawk. Ibaraki, propelled by her demonic flames, managed short bursts of aerial combat.
Tsuna, in comparison, seemed almost plain. No flight, no flashy techniques. Only quick footwork and honest swordplay.
But he too had something else—
A second Noble Phantasm, granted by fame itself—
"My blade is one that severs the demonic! The sword that kills oni—Lion's Child, Onikiri Yasutsuna!"
Vmm—!
Tsuna slid his sword back into its sheath. Instantly, an invisible weight crushed Ibaraki Douji to the ground.
Her body plummeted, slamming into the earth with a spiderweb of cracks. Dust plumed skyward. She was pinned, unable to move.
This was the Noble Phantasm "Onikiri Yasutsuna"—an unavoidable gravity seal on oni-kind. Without extreme levels of Madness Enhancement, mental corruption, or divine protection, there was no escape.
"Damn you, Tsuna! You think this alone can defeat me again?!" Ibaraki shrieked as Tsuna drew his blade once more.
But Tsuna ignored her. He looked instead at Melusine, calm and unmoved in midair.
"You, I suspect, are even more exalted and pure than oni themselves. I mean no offense. But at this moment, there are battles elsewhere—our Masters may be endangered. In my view, we should each return. There will be time to fight another day. As for this demon—I will execute her."
Sword raised, he stepped toward Ibaraki.
"Fool! You think this means you've won, Tsuna?!"
From her crushed body burst roaring flames—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A storm of blazing fists erupted, annihilating everything in their path. Against the unguarded Tsuna, Ibaraki unleashed her hidden second Noble Phantasm:
"Oeyama Dai Enki" (Great Blaze of Mt. Oe)—
a person-slaying Noble Phantasm that condensed firepower meant for armies into single-target infernos!
Don't think you're the only one with a second Noble Phantasm—watch closely, I've got one too!
Fire! Fire! Fire!
Explosions shredded the ground, collapsing streets, toppling high-rises in cascading ruin.
Thick smoke swallowed Tsuna's figure.
Only Melusine hovered above, watching this "chicken fight" with leisure. She hadn't even fought seriously—her Master Nono had only ordered her to rough up Ibaraki.
So the oni was just a punching bag. And Tsuna? He was simply included by chance. Negotiation? What negotiation? If Master hadn't said stop, then they'd keep getting beaten!
Boom! Melusine dived like a bomber, her blade slicing the air, radiant as judgment's light.
Far off, Angra and Yue stood stupefied. Flames towered, blades blazed, streets crumbled beyond recognition.
"So this… is a true Holy Grail War?" Angra muttered.
To the knowing, it was the Grail War. To outsiders, it could just as well be a dragon hunt or a modern terrorist attack.
If only the hybrids of Cassell Academy were all this strong—slaying Dragon Kings would be nothing!
His thoughts wandered, gaze drifting to eerily quiet blocks around them. Clearly, the Orochi Families had sealed off the district to prevent civilians from witnessing. The only question—what cover story they'd use afterward.
Then Angra recalled Melusine in flight. He remembered the secret report—she was a pure-blooded True Dragon, traveling with Shirou and the others. Why was she here?
"Yes, a Holy Grail War… wait," Yue started to agree, when his ears twitched. Just now, hadn't he heard "Master in danger"…? Right—his son was a participant, wasn't he? That meant his son was also a Master!
Yue's face turned grim. He had to find his son—fast!
———
"Brother… finally… we meet again!"
Under the pale moonlight, Kazama Ruri stood with hair loose, clad in a crimson kimono, holding a scarlet long blade. He looked like a beautiful, haunting ghost.
Genshusei gasped for breath, half-kneeling, barely holding himself up. One blow had nearly shattered his sealed dragon-bone state. He'd even tried to invoke his word-spirit, King's Authority—but it hardly touched the demon. The foe danced freely even within the field.
This crushed him. Again, just like that day at Aoiya, ambushed by a "Heroic Spirit." Again, he was useless—fit only to wave flags at the rear.
"It's been so many years…"
"I know."
He looked upon that face, makeup smeared, yet familiar brow-lines unchanged. Even in female dress, he knew at once—this was his younger brother, Genshijo. The brother who should have died. Their resemblance had always been striking.
He might mistake Eriyi, but never Genshijo.
Yet this wasn't truly his brother. The dead do not return. This was only a demon.
"So, you still intend to kill me." Ruri tilted his head at his brother—no, his enemy.
"You are oni. I am human," Genshusei said after a long silence. He gripped his blade, Spider Cutter. No matter how dire, he would never yield to an oni. Laughable as it was, this was the sad justice of an oni-slayer.
Ruri laughed, venomous and hateful. The memory of his brother's blade stabbing him years ago had festered into pure malice.
He raised his blade.
Die!
(End of Chapter)
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