67 Peerless Genius Swordsman
By Monday afternoon, after Shirou stopped by the Kyudo Club, he went to the service club, where the girls had already gathered.
"Hehe, Shirou, look at this!" Yuigahama ran over cheerfully, pulling out a flyer printed with fireworks lighting up the night sky.
"Ah, I was just about to mention this," Shirou said, looking at the picture and pulling out an identical flyer from his backpack.
"So it's settled then! Yukino, Asuna, you're both coming, right?" Yuigahama asked happily.
"If you're all going, then I'll go too," Yukinoshita said quietly, looking at her book.
"That's fine, fireworks in winter have a special charm," Asuna smiled and agreed.
"Mash, you're coming along too, right?" Yuigahama asked the pink-haired junior.
"Yes, I want to see it too," Mash nodded. She recalled her past experience at Chaldea and muttered, "Festivals… Come to think of it, Gudako senpai used to tell Jack and Jeanne Lily and the others that she would take them to catch goldfish."
"Awesome! Then we'll all go together to the festival and watch the fireworks!" Yuigahama raised her hand, shouting joyfully.
This winter fireworks festival had, in recent years, become an annual traditional event held locally in Chiba.
The fireworks would be launched from a large bridge over the water in the park after nightfall, with at least several thousand fireworks firing. The show would last for about half an hour, covering both the sky and water surface with brilliantly changing colors.
People coming to watch usually arrived early, around 5 p.m., to find a good high spot near the park to secure their viewing position.
Then they would wait for the fireworks to begin. After the fireworks ended, families would find a place to eat dinner together.
If anyone worried about getting hungry beforehand, it was no problem. Because whenever such events occurred, nearby shops would apply for permits to set up food stalls selling various snacks and sweets.
The area would become bustling and lively like a proper festival.
After school on Wednesday afternoon, Shirou and the girls first went home to change out of their uniforms and then met up at the agreed spot.
They then went together to the waterside park to watch the fireworks. Since it was winter night and by the bridge, everyone wore thick warm coats or down jackets.
Yukinoshita Yukino wore a white down coat, which complemented her jet-black, pearl-like long hair. She walked shoulder to shoulder with Shirou.
"Hey, aren't you guys going to eat?" Yuigahama called from ahead, holding Kanto stew in one hand and a meat bun in the other.
"Yeah! Big brother! There's so much delicious food here, we can eat to our heart's content," Komachi said, holding a candied hawthorn stick in her mouth and a paper-wrapped sweet potato in her hand.
Asuna and Mash, who were dragged along to buy food and couldn't resist the temptation, were now happily eating—one holding fried noodles and the other takoyaki.
"After watching the fireworks, we're going to Komachi's house to celebrate her successful school admission, so we probably won't be able to eat dinner," Yukinoshita reminded her friends.
The international high school had announced its acceptance list on Tuesday, and Komachi had successfully been admitted.
So, after watching the fireworks, they decided to all go to the Hikigaya house to celebrate cheerfully.
"Komachi, your family prepared a cake for you," Shirou said to his little sister.
"That's okay! Eating sweets is like having a second stomach!" Komachi smiled, biting off a piece of her candied hawthorn.
"Exactly! After the fireworks, let's go buy candied apples and cotton candy!" Yuigahama nodded in agreement.
At that moment, all their phones rang simultaneously, vibrating wildly.
"Everyone, trouble! Monster groups are rampaging on the nearby small hill, and massive magical energy readings have been detected! This is dangerous!" Kodachi suddenly ran out shouting.
"I thought normal monsters couldn't break through the barrier of the interdimensional space?" Shirou exchanged looks with the girls and they quickly ran toward the mountain where the interdimensional space had appeared.
When they arrived at the small hill and looked up, they saw a red giant dragon perched atop the pavilion at the summit. Its mouth was open, gathering magical energy. It seemed mutated—the wings behind had transformed into crystal-clear gemstone-like sheets, apparently unable to fly anymore.
However, it was continuously absorbing the magic inside the interdimensional space into its body. Every so often, the magical energy gathered in the dragon's mouth grew more intense.
At this point, they could already feel the aura of destruction looming.
The red magical dragon raised its long neck and noticed the intruding youths.
The dragon extended its neck, stretched its head beyond the stone steps, locked its gaze on the youths, and expelled a scorching red beam of breath.
The terrifying power on display was at least on par with an A-rank anti-army Noble Phantasm. It fired directly down the mountain.
Mash rushed forward, raised her giant cross shield, and activated her Noble Phantasm—Camelot's towering castle—to block the destructive beam.
The mutated dragon's wings continuously absorbed magical energy, strengthening itself. The next time it used its breath, it would only be stronger.
All around the mountain, thousands of monster eyes glowed green and yellow in the night, flashing densely.
Attempting to climb the mountain, there might not even be a place to stand.
"This is like a turret protected inside a fortress," Mash said, looking at the layered shadows on the mountain and the dragon above.
"And it's happening right in such a populated area!" Shirou summoned Merlin through possession, using illusions to create a realistic phantom, isolating the entire mountain from the outside world to prevent monsters from escaping. He also sent subtle signals to nearby visitors, urging them to keep their distance.
At this moment, Komachi took out her phone, looking at the monsters nearby.
"Are these the monsters that big brother and the senior students fought before? They're strong enemies! But it's okay! Now that Komachi and big brother are together, our sibling combo is invincible!"
Dressed in a samurai outfit, the spirited girl appeared, wearing a light blue haori and wrapped in a long scarf.
Komachi drew the famous sword 'Kiku-Ichimonji Norimune'!
The peerless swordsman who possessed her was Okita Souji, who wielded the deadly sword technique 'Mumyō Sandan-zuki'!
A gust of wind blew, lifting the girl's scarf high. She tightened her grip on her treasured sword and fixed her sharp gaze on the dragon high above. She turned to those behind her and said in a cool tone:
"Leave these small fries to you all. As for the red dragon on top, leave it to me, the genius swordsman! Watch me use my exquisite 'Shukuchi' footwork to instantly reach the summit and take that dragon's head… cough cough."
Before she could finish, Komachi clutched her mouth coughing, crouching down and spitting out fresh red blood.
"Komachi! Are you okay? I'll treat you right now!" Shirou asked anxiously.
"Cough cough… I'm fine… Big brother, I just choked on a candied hawthorn," Komachi, transformed into Sakura Saber, weakly crouched on the ground, saying, "I don't need passive skills like being fragile at level A…"
"That's enough… You just rest here," Shirou said helplessly.
She really was his little sister after all—how could she ever be cool?
At critical moments, she'd always goof up or mess things up, but he was already used to taking care of this kind of person.