After working alongside the Guard Department's assault teams for quite some time, Shirou was already very familiar with the standard procedures. Tossing in a smoke grenade or flashbang first to disrupt the enemy was usually the best way to begin an assault operation.
After all, when ordinary people heard gunfire under such circumstances, they would either instinctively seek cover or simply fail to react in time, foolishly turning toward the source of the sound.
Either outcome was something Shirou was happy to see.
Although flashbangs sounded as if they only affected vision, they did more than emit bright light. The tremendous noise they produced could also temporarily rob enemies of their hearing.
"AAAAH! My eyes!"
As Shirou activated the magical energy within the bullet, a brilliant flash illuminated most of the corridor. A deafening bang followed, and only then came the screams.
Keeping his gaze averted from the blast, Shirou decisively moved around the corner as soon as the sound erupted, dual gunblades in hand, and opened fire in the direction of the enemies.
"Enemy attack! Take cover!"
Hearing the barrage of gunfire, one man shouted loudly while grabbing a large shield nearby and raising it before himself.
The oversized shield, much larger than those used by ordinary people, gave the Ursus soldier a small sense of security.
A moment later, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
Looking down, he discovered that a massive hole had been punched through the shield. The shot had penetrated his armor as well, passing completely through his chest.
"Urgh..."
The gaping wound and overwhelming pain left him unable to utter a single warning to his comrades. He could only turn his terrified gaze behind him.
The Ursus soldier clearly saw that the armor of the teammate behind him had likewise been pierced, crimson blood continuously pouring from the wound.
Before he could determine how many people had been penetrated by that single round, a sudden pain struck his head.
Then darkness swallowed his vision, and his body collapsed uncontrollably to one side.
The shield that had inspired such confidence moments ago was now riddled with countless bullet holes, a terrifying sight to behold.
If even such a sturdy shield had been completely penetrated, there was no need to mention the other obstacles used as cover. Shirou's gunfire had punched through virtually all of them.
In barely more than ten seconds, Shirou had eliminated the entire group with the dual guns in his hands.
The main reason was that they had been clustered together, and the cramped surroundings left them nowhere to run.
More importantly, the firepower of Shirou's twin gunblades was extraordinary. The fact that they had pierced that enormous shield spoke for itself.
Exusiai had once said that sufficient firepower could solve many problems with ease.
Unfortunately, both the firepower of her guns and the size of her wallet had their limits.
"That was it? It ended just like that? It does not feel real..."
Still holding his twin gunblades, Shirou stared ahead and muttered to himself.
The weapons were certainly effective, but eliminating enemies simply by pulling a trigger...
It felt as though something was missing.
It was not that he wanted a thrilling life-or-death battle. Whenever he fought with twin swords or a bow in the past, he always identified his target before striking.
This time, however, he had not even seen his opponents before killing them all.
It felt as though he had not pulled a trigger at all, but merely pressed a button on a control stick.
The sensation left him deeply uncomfortable.
"Heh... I have already taken lives, and I am still thinking about things like this?"
Looking at the pair of gunblades in his hands, Shirou laughed bitterly at himself.
Nevertheless, his body was honest. He replaced the gunblade in his right hand with an ordinary sword.
At least he still worried about such things now.
The day he stopped questioning them would be the day he truly stepped onto that path.
Shirou could not claim to fully understand that person, but he was certain that it was the one path Emiya Shirou least wished to walk.
"Ah..."
A faint sound of labored breathing came from ahead.
Shirou shook his head, casting aside the chaotic thoughts filling his mind.
With a gunblade in one hand and a sword in the other, he advanced toward the area he had just riddled with bullets.
Blood was scattered everywhere.
And there were the shattered remains of human bodies.
Ignoring the gruesome scene, Shirou headed directly toward the source of the sound.
It was a Sarkaz positioned far in the back.
Several holes riddled his body, and bright red blood continuously flowed from the wounds.
At this moment, the powerful physique of the Sarkaz was no longer an advantage that allowed him to continue fighting.
Instead, it had become the thing he hated most.
"Hss..."
Seeing the red-clad figure approach, the Sarkaz widened his eyes and stared fixedly at the person before him.
Those golden eyes shone brilliantly within the darkness.
He could feel it.
The other man was looking at him.
And he could clearly see the massive gunblade and the white sword held in Shirou's hands.
The bullet from that gun had pierced his chest earlier, had it not?
With that thought, he struggled to open his mouth and speak.
"Ugh..."
Noticing that the man seemed to want to say something, Shirou crouched down.
He lowered his weapons out of the Sarkaz's line of sight while quietly positioning one against a vital point.
Letting the man bleed to death would have worked as well, but Shirou was not that cruel.
Granting him a swift end was the least he could do.
"You... devil..."
The Sarkaz seemed to exhaust every last ounce of strength just to force out those words.
After speaking, he collapsed back onto the ground.
"Yeah," Shirou replied. "You are right."
After hearing the man's words and confirming that he had completely run out of strength and could only lie there helplessly waiting for death, Shirou finally spoke.
At the same time, he used Kanshou's counterpart, Bakuya, in his hand to slit the man's throat, granting him a swift and painless end.
In the process, the Sarkaz's blood splattered all over Shirou.
He did not care.
There was already more than enough blood staining his clothes. A little more made no difference.
Pulling the blade free from the corpse, he saw that the white sword remained spotless and pristine, not a trace of blood clinging to its surface.
A blood-soaked wielder.
An immaculate weapon.
Rising to his feet, Shirou let out a long breath and wiped the blood from his face.
Tap. Tap. Tap...
Just as he was cleaning himself off, he heard the sound of many people rushing over. Instantly, he raised the gun in his left hand and aimed toward the source of the noise.
However, once he recognized the newcomers, he lowered the weapon.
It was Frostnova and that group of Reunion members dressed in unusually thick clothing.
Although Frostnova and the others had not seen Shirou aiming at them, they knew he had already noticed their arrival.
After all, those golden eyes stood out clearly in the dim surroundings.
"...You finished way too quickly, did you not? I rushed over the moment I heard the gunfire, and everything is already over?"
Only after approaching did Frostnova get a clear look at the scene.
It was quite a mess.
Still, she had seen worse before and showed little reaction.
Besides being an Infected, she was also a warrior of Reunion.
"It was an ambush. Of course it had to be fast."
Hearing her comment, Shirou shrugged.
"You have a point. So, what are you planning to do next?"
Noticing that something seemed off about Shirou's expression, Frostnova casually changed the subject and asked about his next move.
Shirou had not been lying.
Judging from the battlefield, this squad of several dozen men had indeed been the ones ambushed. Most of them had died before even putting on their equipment.
The bullet holes in the cover and shields suggested a completely one-sided battle.
Moreover, the person responsible appeared entirely uninjured.
He simply looked as though he was in a poor mood.
"I will probably make another round through the school and check the situation. After that, I will continue doing what I am supposed to do."
As he spoke, Shirou pointed toward a pile of supplies nearby.
"And those seem to be this group's supplies. You can take them if you want. Some of it got caught up in the fighting, but most of it is still intact."
Following the direction of his finger, everyone looked toward the pile.
At Frostnova's nod, they lowered their weapons and began sorting through it.
After all, there was no such thing as having too many supplies.
Once the operation was over, they could take everything with them when they left.
"Ursus profanity! There is alcohol here! These bastards were living way too comfortably!"
As several people rummaged through the supplies, they could not help commenting on how luxurious the previous owners' lives had been.
"I do not recommend leaving the school. Think about it yourself. How many battles have you fought since this morning?"
While her squad's attention remained focused on the supplies, Frostnova stepped closer to Shirou and spoke quietly.
"They were all minor scuffles..."
Placing a hand against the wall, Shirou answered while simultaneously activating Structural Analysis magecraft.
This time he limited the range to the first floor.
Anything outside was beyond his concern. Besides, in weather like this, ordinary people would have difficulty remaining outdoors anyway.
"Minor scuffles? You fought the old stubborn fool, destroyed Mudrock's colossus and fought her too, and then I froze you solid. You are calling all of that minor scuffles?"
The moment she heard his response, Frostnova's gaze turned dangerous.
She began counting off the battles she knew about on her fingers.
Even Talulah would not dare call those fights minor.
She genuinely could not tell whether the man in front of her truly believed it or was simply being stubborn.
"None of you were actually serious, were you?"
Watching Frostnova count the number of people he had fought, Shirou's eyes twitched slightly, his face full of helplessness.
He had not even complained about being tired!
Why was someone else keeping track of how many people he had fought!?
"Hah? I was using my Arts at full power! Or are you saying it was not cold enough for you?"
At Shirou's remark, Frostnova stopped counting and glared at him with what she clearly considered a terrifying expression.
The instant she finished speaking, Shirou could distinctly feel the temperature around them drop several degrees.
It was still within his tolerance.
However, he had the feeling that if he dared say that aloud, the temperature might drop several more degrees and force him into an even greater state of alertness.
He had no intention of becoming a human popsicle.
Being frozen certainly cleared the mind, but his belongings—
Oh.
His communicator was no longer on him.
And his small backpack had already been emptied as well?
In that case, it did not matter.
He was not going to break from being frozen anyway.
No one could stop him.
Even freezing him in place right here would not change that.
It was probably better to avoid unnecessary arguments.
His mental state was indeed not at its best right now, so there was no reason to create trouble for himself.
With that thought, Shirou decisively shut his mouth and pretended to be fully focused on his Structural Analysis magecraft.
Frostnova: "..."
This guy!
This Ursus profanity...
Did he think she was blind? His face had practically been screaming "That's it?" just a moment ago!
Without a second thought, Frostnova reached out and grabbed the back of his neck, simultaneously using a small amount of her Arts.
"Cut it out."
Feeling someone pinch the back of his neck, Shirou instinctively shrank his shoulders and protested.
This woman was being awfully familiar for someone he had only met recently. She was already comfortable putting her hands on him.
He silently complained about Frostnova's behavior, but his own hands never stopped working.
He had long since become accustomed to people bothering him while he was busy. Otherwise, he would probably have accumulated quite a few burn scars by now.
For that, he had the frequent kitchen raiders of Penguin Logistics to thank.
Especially two particular individuals.
"Hmm?"
"Is something wrong?"
Hearing Shirou suddenly speak up, Frostnova immediately withdrew her hand, genuinely thinking that something had happened.
"...Yeah. There is an activated Originium explosive over here."
Since she had already let go, Shirou chose not to dwell on her earlier behavior. Instead, he pointed his blade toward the area where the dead soldiers had fallen.
"An explosive?"
Stepping aside, Frostnova watched as Shirou used his sword to stab into a pile of sandbags before pulling out a device hidden inside.
"Tch. It is even timed. Judging by the design, it looks like a model used by the Ursus military."
Shirou carefully examined the Originium explosive and quickly recalled a similar model from memory.
Without Structural Analysis magecraft, he probably would never have noticed it.
After all, it had been hidden inside a sandbag being used as a barricade.
Was it fortunate or unfortunate?
During his earlier barrage, he had somehow avoided hitting the explosive.
Otherwise, those people would have ended up with a face full of Originium dust.
No...
More accurately, even without his intervention, their deaths had already been inevitable.
The explosive was on a timer.
That meant once the countdown reached zero, it would go boom and blast every one of them into the air.
The only difference was whether they died easily or painfully.
Unfortunately, Shirou had already supplied them with the former answer.
"I will deal with this first."
Seeing Shirou casually turning an armed Originium explosive over in his hands, Frostnova immediately snatched it away.
Then she used her Arts to freeze the entire device, inside and out.
"That is certainly a hardcore bomb-disposal method..."
Shirou could not help commenting on her approach.
It was effective, certainly.
Under normal circumstances, though, one would usually use something like liquid nitrogen to freeze an explosive and render it inert...
That particular bit of knowledge came from Nameless's military expertise.
As for how he recognized the explosive in the first place—
Let us just say that Chen, Swire, Hoshiguma, and Yith had all made sure to drill that sort of information into him.