It was painfully obvious: Shirō Emiya had overestimated himself trying to skip the incantation for his spell. The moment he started, he realized he couldn't maintain it, so he had no choice but to hurriedly tack on the post-chant, just to stabilize Bakudō #77: Tenteikūra.
That's right, this time, Shirō had definitely pushed his act too far and paid the price.
As the name suggests, chant abandonment refers to casting Kidō without its verbal incantation. While this greatly saves time, it comes at a cost, namely, a reduction in spell power, which is heavily dependent on the caster's spiritual pressure.
And Shirō's spiritual pressure wasn't exactly overwhelming. So trying to forcefully cast Bakudō #77 without a chant had completely destabilized the spell.
Worse yet, this wasn't some one-shot destructive Hadō. Tenteikūra is a sustained-type Bakudō.
If it were Hadō, sure, it might've just been weaker, but at least it'd still fire off. But with Bakudō, if the strength is too low, the spell collapses before it even activates. In modern terms? It's like your phone bill's overdue, connection cut.
Of course Shirō wouldn't accept that! If he gave up and tried again with a full incantation, wouldn't that be a huge embarrassment in front of his maid?
He had been so smug, so cool a moment ago, and she'd clearly been full of admiration seeing him abandon the chant so confidently!
So Shirō did the only thing he could, he downgraded from chant abandonment to a post-chant incantation.
To be fair, his brain worked fast in moments like these. Under the circumstances, post-chanting was his only viable way to keep Tenteikūra from collapsing completely.
Besides, in most people's eyes, post-chanting was just as badass as chant abandonment, only high-level users could pull it off. From that angle, Shirō still managed to save himself from embarrassment. Two birds, one stone.
As for how the captains across Soul Society felt about it? Well, Shirō didn't care one bit.
In his mind, they were all bored out of their minds anyway. "Your young master's here to give you a little entertainment, isn't that a good thing?!"
Thus, the scene unfolded.
Through the corner of his eye, Shirō glanced at his maid. Though she'd been visibly startled earlier, her expression had quickly returned to that admiring gaze. Whether real or fake, it was enough to put his heart at ease.
This guy... truly had no sense of shame. Or more accurately, he'd long since abandoned anything resembling common sense.
Post-chanting versus a full incantation, did it really save time?
Well, yes and no. Post-chanting is harder to pull off and, worse, it's like answering a call before preparing what to say, forcing everyone on the line to listen to a long, painful loading screen monologue.
You have to understand, most of these captains thought some major emergency had happened.
But what they got was... a whole lot of waiting.
Finally, after dragging out the chant, Shirō delivered his message:
"Moshi moshi, quick self-intro here! I'm Shirō Emiya, future fifth seat of the 2nd Division and provisional vice-captain of the Courier Squad. This is just a test, no need to panic. If you heard this, please send me a reply, just to confirm if my Bakudō was successful. If you're too busy to reply directly, even a Hell Butterfly will do. Thanks so much. Alright, that's it, carry on with your day!"
Elsewhere, at the 8th Division Headquarters...
"Pfft, Lisa, think you should go run over and respond?" Kyōraku Shunsui chuckled.
"Don't make it sound so sketchy!!" Lisa Yadōmaru jumped to her feet, then paused, fixed her glasses, and sat back down with a huff. "Don't act like we're close or something! That guy isn't worth my attention!"
Kyōraku smiled, sweatdropping internally.
At the 13th Division...
"Cough... what a cute little fellow," said Ukitake Jūshirō, smiling gently. "Let's humor him. Send a Hell Butterfly."
"No, Captain! Absolutely not!" Shiba Kaien protested, flames of justice in his eyes. "Who does that kid think he is?! Asking a captain to handle something like this?! That's just feeding his ego!"
Ukitake blinked. "Ahem... in that case, I'll leave this matter to you, Kaien."
"Captain, please rest easy!" Kaien declared, completely ignoring Shirō's message.
Meanwhile, in the 4th Division...
"Let's not let external distractions get in the way. Back to our flower arrangement," said Unohana Retsu calmly.
"Yes, Captain!" her subordinates chorused.
As for the other captains? Some were too lazy to care. Some were annoyed. Some thought this brat wasn't worth their time. A few chuckled and moved on. And maybe a couple felt like storming over to beat Shirō to a pulp... but restrained themselves, mindful of their status.
Bottom line? Not a single one responded. No one sent a reply. Not even a Hell Butterfly.
What a joke, some future fifth seat, and only provisional at that. You think you've got that kind of clout?
Meanwhile, blissfully unaware of his universal snub, Shirō reclined in his garden, sipping sake while his maid continued to flatter him.
"Just wait. Maybe a few captains will swing by," he said casually.
"C-captains?!" The maid nearly dropped the cup she was pouring.
"What's with that reaction? They're just captains. If they show up, remember to stay calm and dignified. Embarrass yourself all you want, but don't embarrass me!"
Shirō seriously believed they'd be coming over to praise his success. This guy's delusion level could measure on the Richter scale.
But as time passed, the sake didn't go down so smoothly anymore.
His maid, initially nervous, started to relax. She clearly no longer believed any captains were coming. Understandable, really, how could a mere maid not be nervous meeting captains?
But for Shirō, this was turning into a nightmare.
He'd barely avoided embarrassment earlier with the post-chant save. But if this whole stunt ended in failure?
That would be devastating, especially with that starry-eyed maid watching him the whole time. After all, he'd been so full of swagger earlier.
Even though she hadn't said a word, hadn't made a single expression, Shirō just knew, she was laughing at him on the inside!
That thought was unbearable.
With a determined glare, Shirō slammed his cup down and stood up.
"Young Master?!" the maid exclaimed.
Shirō didn't reply. He struck a stance and began again.
"Bakudō #77, Tenteikūra!"
No flashy lead-up this time. Just straight into the post-chant:
"Black and white nets... twenty-two bridges... sixty-six crowns... footsteps, distant thunder, jagged peaks, returning ground, nightfall, cloud sea, azure procession, all converging toward the heavens...!"
Why still use the post-chant? Simple, pride.
He'd already fumbled once. If he switched to a normal cast now, wouldn't that basically admit he'd been bluffing earlier?
At this point, better to fake it till you make it.
Even if it fails, at least he tried the "advanced" version.
Because if he did it the normal way and still failed...
Then he really couldn't show his face in front of that maid again.
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