Issei charged all of his boosted mana into his palm, creating a sphere of power aimed at his teacher, the activation taking barely a couple of seconds thanks to how brutally Shirou punished him in the past for taking too long to charge.
However, Shirou Emiya, as he is now, was not one to fall so easily to such attacks.
"Dragon-geh!!"
Shirou delivered a devastating punch to Issei's throat, forcing the boy to lose his focus.
As a result, the compressed ball of mana exploded in his gauntlet, causing immense pain to the boy.
"I told you before, Issei, using an aria to focus yourself is good, but don't rely too much on it since an experienced magi can easily disrupt such a thing. Only use an aria when you are about to use your most powerful attacks. When using something on the lower end of the spectrum, try to do it wordlessly."
Issei only flipped the bird to his teacher from his prone position on the ground, a gesture that earned him another attack.
Shirou used his new speed to literally disappear from his place, leaving behind displaced winds in his wake.
Realizing that he really will die if he does not get up, Issei jumped to his feet and rolled away from the so-called 'Boss level character' that he called his teacher.
And just in time for a punch to shatter the ground where he was lying just a moment ago.
"What the hell?! Are you really trying to off me?!"
"Don't be so dramatic. It would barely qualify as a greeting in terms of a dragon. I say you should toughen up your flesh to my level if you want to use my full power."
"Says the guy who retreated into the depths of my soul the moment Shishou took out that golden sword of his."
Ddraig fell silent in embarrassment, not able to defend himself, but not willing to defend himself either.
How was he supposed to explain to Issei that that 'golden sword' was none other than Arondight? That it and its sister sword, Excalibur, were responsible for slaying many a dragon in the past, including his and his rivals' wielders in the Arthurian times.
In fact, the death of Ddraig's host that time at the Perfect Knight's hands was so brutal that it carved a powerful trauma in the dragon's very soul.
That was why he was so deathly afraid of that damned sword, even if it looked very different from how he remembered it.
After all, his fear of that sword made sure that he would recognize its conceptual presence no matter its appearance.
'I can't imagine what Albion will think when he sees that damned sword in this boy's hands. Especially after the lengths he went through to get rid of it through his host by throwing it back into Vivian's lake.'
Suddenly, Issei jerked back on pure instinct, dodging a powerful elbow strike aimed straight at his chest by Shirou, using the Bajiquan of a certain fake priest that he got by tracing his spiritual surgety tools and other stuff from his various other incarnations across the Kaleidoscope. Skills that EMIYA polished throughout his eons of existence to such an extent that he no longer needs to project those items to replicate Kirei's fighting style, just like he no longer needs to project Balmung, Galatine, or any other such weapons to replicate their owners' fighting styles.
"Good reflex. Looks like you've been practicing well."
"Hard not to when you throw me into a den of Stray Devils every night in the name of training!! I seriously need to demand compensation for the PTSD you've caused me over the last month!!"
"I see. Since you can still speak such nonsense, I guess you are ready for some further training then."
Once again, Shirou moved like a ghost, mana surging across his body and pooling into his Fists, Forearms, Elbows, Shoulders, Hips, Things, Knees, and feet, perfectly embodying the core philosophies of Bajiquan.
"No fair! You are using that inhuman mana of yours!!"
Issei complained incessantly, doing his best to emulate the main character of the game he recently picked up called Dark Souls, and either rolling away from danger or parrying when he could, using the Boosted Gear as a makeshift shield.
Of course, it came at a great cost since if even a single one of those hits landed, he would get more than just a broken bone.
"Tell me, Issei, what are the rules of Pankration?"
"No biting and no eye gouging!"
"Correct. Which means, there are no other rules aside from those two, including supernatural methods."
"I really hate you!!"
Finally, Issei made a mistake and rolled away at the wrong time, allowing Shirou to close the gap and ruthlessly kick him like a soccer ball, making him bounce on the ground like a said ball and land outside the makeshift ring that Shirou set up in the courtyard of the Ryuudou temple.
The strike was so hard that Issei straight up broke several ribs and suffered a long list of internal damage, making him wheeze in pain.
Thankfully, his relief came in the form of a beautiful ex-nun who healed him with her Sacred Gear.
Issei cried animatedly at her angelic features.
"Asia-chan, save me from the tyranny of your brother."
Asia frowned at the damage she could see on Issei's body before turning to her adopted brother.
"Nii-sama. You should control your strength from now on. You nearly killed him with that attack."
Shirou smiled amusedly at those words before tracing the Staff of Asclepius and placing it down near Issei for good measure.
"I was controlling my strength, Asia. If I really went all out, he would be nothing more than a pile of meat at this moment."
Issei's face paled at those words. On instinct, he latched onto Asia and trembled under the glare of his teacher, while the ex-nun blushed profusely under the physical contact.
"Asia-chan, save me!"
At Asia's reproachful look, Shirou finally looked embarrassed as he scratched his cheek.
"Fine, fine. I'll make sure to control my attacks from now on. Also, Issei?"
Suddenly, Issei felt a chill go down his spine as he looked up at Shirou, only to spot the familiar, terrifying smile on his face.
"When did you get so close as to make physical contact with Asia? Hm? Care to fill me in on this?"
Asia's face now very much resembled a tomato as she tried to explain.
"I-Its not what you are t-thinking. I-Issei is...well....Ehe?"
"....I see. Step aside for a bit."
"RUN! YOU FOOL!"
Issei did not need to be told twice as he booked it, using ten consecutive boosts to escape his teacher, who reinforced himself, surpassing his base abilities, which were already on par with his servant version, thanks to the merger.
As for Asia, she was left a blushing mess who did not know what to do before meekly returning home.
Many a report would come in that night about strange girly screams and roars of a beast across the town, with great emphasis placed on how the girly screams sounded like they were facing some unspeakable horror, while the beast's roar somehow conveyed righteous fury.
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Author Notes: A smaller chapter with some slice of life stuff
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