Slaying the demon named Kaigaku didn't earn Emiya even a moment's respite.
As if sensing him as an intruder, the bizarre space itself seemed to come alive, countless winding staircases and rooms hurtling toward Emiya from every angle.
Their movements weren't as fast as Kaigaku's; indeed, they barely matched the agility of ordinary demons.
But their sheer numbers and wide-ranging assault made up for it.
Everything around Emiya had become an instrument of attack.
Though such basic strikes posed no immediate threat, with Emiya already wounded and drained, this unending evasion would inevitably end in exhaustion—and death.
Emiya even jumped through a window only to emerge seconds later from another window dozens of meters away.
This method of attack was similar to what Asakusa Kaori had employed—lacking raw power, but extremely troublesome. If not, the Love Hashira and the Serpent Hashira wouldn't have been bogged down by Nakime during the Infinity Castle incident.
As Emiya hurtled through yet another window, frustration gnawed at him.
Kaigaku's Blood Demon Art continued to torment him, pain flaring across his body with every motion, like a mermaid walking upon dry land with knives stabbing relentlessly into her legs.
Burning agony layered itself relentlessly over his wounds.
Yet, aside from endless rooms, stairs, and corridors, there was nothing else to see.
His line of sight was completely obstructed by infinite hallways, no way to find the demon responsible.
At this rate, I'll have to gamble everything.
"[Trace—On]!"
Two serrated blades suddenly appeared in Emiya's hands.
With a sharp twist of his body, Emiya flattened himself against the door of a charging room, stabbing both blades deeply into its surface and kneeling there with his arms spread wide.
"[Beast Breathing—Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness]!"
It was a technique born from Hashibira Inosuke's extraordinary tactile sense, cultivated in the mountains and sharpened through self-taught Breathing forms. By focusing intently, even the faintest shifts in the air could be sensed, pinpointing opponents without direct contact.
However, this skill was Inosuke's unique talent—an innate gift that no mere technique or training could replicate.
Just as Archer, no matter how proficient in [Projection Magecraft], could never truly acquire Cú Chulainn's [Divinity] or Saber's [Instinct].
Such abilities were gifts bestowed at birth, irreplaceable and unattainable through mere effort.
And thus—
"It's completely useless!"
Quickly pulling both blades free, Emiya resumed his desperate evasion.
Clearly, even though Emiya could utilize Beast Breathing to some extent, he lacked Inosuke's innate sensory talent required for such precise environmental awareness.
Though he had trained extensively to rely on vision, touch, hearing, and intuition, his skill level remained insufficient.
As Emiya's mind spun with frustration, the relentless, exhausting attacks continued without pause.
Calm down! Stay calm, Emiya, calm down!
Another window zipped past, narrowly missing his jaw. After enduring such an intense battle and prolonged evasion, Emiya's stamina had severely deteriorated.
No matter how determined he was, human limitations could never be ignored indefinitely.
Constant motion, burning agony, blood steadily seeping from his wounds—
Each made it increasingly difficult for Emiya to maintain clarity and plan his next move.
How could he swiftly locate and defeat the demon responsible for this Blood Demon Art? While struggling simply to stay alive, there was little room left to think clearly about such a strategy.
Yet he had no choice but to find a solution.
Attacks continued unabated, gradually restricting Emiya's movements. Like serpents constricting prey, rooms shifted and twisted, shrinking his available space. Clearly, the demon controlling this space wasn't interested in dragging out a war of attrition.
But why the rush?
It was a demon, he was human—in a place without sunlight, attrition would be the simplest method to kill him. This place seemed infinitely vast; Emiya would never find it easily.
An endurance battle would inevitably end in Emiya's death.
Could it be this space isn't actually as vast as I imagined? Maybe it's afraid a prolonged fight would expose its location?
Emiya questioned this inwardly. Surely the demon wasn't simply prone to fits of rage, frustrated by repeated failure to kill him?
If that were the case, shouldn't it have been even angrier that Emiya, despite interference, had slain Kaigaku?
Seems like I've found the simplest, crudest solution.
He'd fought Kaigaku for so long, nearly severing his neck, yet the creator of this space only realized their battle quite late.
That suggested the demon's control over this space wasn't as precise or powerful as he'd assumed.
Perhaps the demon didn't even fully grasp all the interconnected windows it had created.
If it did, Emiya wouldn't have simply emerged from a random window—he'd have been teleported directly into a deadly trap.
With such limited control, Emiya believed he had ample room for maneuver.
Otherwise, this demon could've simply banished him to some remote corner and left him to starve or let stronger demons finish him off. That would've been far simpler.
Yet it chose this complicated route.
Thus, Emiya resolved himself to start opening doors and windows—rapidly and repeatedly.
The entity controlling the Infinity Castle clearly had limits. Although the attacks seemed to have potential for greater speed, it couldn't manage that degree of precision.
If Emiya moved through windows and doors connecting various spaces at high speed, the demon would likely fail to keep track of him.
All Emiya had to do was pinpoint the demon's location and find a way to defeat it.
Emiya was certain this demon shared Asakusa Kaori's weakness—powerful Blood Demon Art masking a frail physical body.
At the precise instant another room collided with him, Emiya twisted like an eel, swiftly darting into a nearby window.
Now Emiya resembled a blur dashing across security monitors at incredible speed—visible everywhere, yet impossible to track down.