Kiritsugu Emiya Reappears

Perhaps because Souichirou Kuzuki and Caster Medea were too weak, no Reincarnators had chosen to join their camp.

At this moment, the two merely watched Bai Cangshu step into the barrier alone.

"I thought Saber would be the first to come in."

The woman’s voice carried deep regret.

A dagger-like Noble Phantasm appeared in her hand, radiating intense magical energy.

"I advise you not to do that."

From the corner of his eye, Bai Cangshu took in Souichirou Kuzuki’s movements. The silent man had lowered his arms to his sides, seemingly ready to attack at any moment.

Unfortunately, Bai Cangshu was not a Master like Rin Tohsaka or Shirou Emiya, much less a Saber lacking magical energy.

He was a Martial Artist. Against people like Souichirou Kuzuki and Sasaki Kojirō, who relied on close-quarters combat through martial arts and swordsmanship, he possessed overwhelmingly favorable adaptability.

Moreover, Bai Cangshu considered himself a Martial Artist whose physical destructive power and martial prowess alone could probably match an ordinary Servant.

Even under the effects of this Magic Barrier, it would not take him long to instantly kill Souichirou Kuzuki.

Souichirou Kuzuki paused. He felt an intense stabbing pain below his neck, but in the next moment, he continued walking toward his target.

He was an empty man, stripped of all meaning, like a doll. Before he found Medea, he had believed his entire life would remain that way.

But since he had promised to win the Holy Grail War for Medea, even dying in battle would at least give his life a trace of meaning.

The man’s resolve was clear, and Medea seemed to sense it as well. Watching Assassin’s lips slowly curl upward, her heart suddenly sank.

An image seemed to flash through her mind. In the next moment, Lord Souichirou Kuzuki would be killed by a single punch, leaving only half a body standing in the field.

"Wait!"

Medea spoke in panic. When she raised her head, the face beneath her robes no longer held the ambition of a Great Witch, only the pale worry of a young girl.

Souichirou Kuzuki froze. At some point, he had flashed to Bai Cangshu’s side, his arms whipping up like two long snakes and stopping before Bai Cangshu’s neck.

He turned to Medea, unable to understand why she had called for him to stop. Bai Cangshu merely smiled and showed no intention of moving, yet Medea could clearly sense that powerful inclination.

If she did not stop this, the other man would throw a side punch and kill Souichirou Kuzuki outright.

"What do you want?"

Souichirou Kuzuki did not understand. His fist was clearly poised before the other man’s neck; with one strike, he could shatter his cervical vertebrae.

Yet judging by Medea’s reaction, it was as though he had become a hostage in the other man’s hands.

"Join our alliance, Medea. Then Souichirou Kuzuki can live."

A slight change came over Souichirou Kuzuki’s numb expression. His expectations had been right. At some point, he had indeed become this Assassin’s hostage, a burden dragging Medea down.

In that instant, Souichirou Kuzuki wanted to attack the other man directly.

But Medea stopped him with a shriek.

"Don’t!"

"I’m begging you, Souichirou!"

"Don’t die, please don’t die!"

The Great Witch’s bearing had vanished completely, leaving only a girl terrified of losing someone.

Seeing Medea like this, Bai Cangshu found it somewhat boring. No wonder that in nearly every storyline, even when she gained an early advantage, the combination of Caster Medea, who had summoned a Servant herself, and the "strongest class, Teacher Souichirou Kuzuki" would basically suffer a swift and crushing defeat.

Compared to the other pairings, these two had weaknesses that were far too obvious.

Caring too much about each other only made them burdens to one another.

Bang!

A sudden gunshot rang out.

Medea and Souichirou Kuzuki were both startled, but Bai Cangshu abruptly jerked his head aside, as though his neck had been snapped.

The bullet passed through where Bai Cangshu’s head had been a moment earlier.

Killing Intent Perception.

This equipment effect, which had gradually become useless after Bai Cangshu obtained Mantra, displayed its effect once again.

After forcing Medea to give up resisting, he had sensed a wave of killing intent firmly locking onto his temple.

He was familiar with that feeling. Bai Cangshu had had his forehead targeted like this no fewer than a hundred times.

It was a firearm.

And in this world, he knew exactly which Magus was accustomed to fighting with firearms. It was most likely Kiritsugu Emiya, who for some reason had not died.

Bang!

Bang!

Two more shots rang out, but Bai Cangshu took a single step, moving dozens of meters in an instant and leaving behind a series of ghostly afterimages.

Only now did Souichirou Kuzuki understand. It was not that the other man had failed to react to his attack. Rather, the other man was so fast that even with his hand only a dozen centimeters from his neck, he was confident he could kill him without injury.

Medea immediately moved in front of Souichirou Kuzuki.

"Lord Souichirou, it’s that person underground…"

Souichirou Kuzuki remained silent as well. Kiritsugu Emiya should have been sealed underground. How had he suddenly appeared here?

No, he was not even sure whether the current Kiritsugu Emiya was still the same person as before.

Medea was quick-witted. Before that group entered the mountain, she had already sensed that among them was Kiritsugu Emiya’s adopted son.

"If we remove the barrier now, we can probably throw these people into some confusion."

Bang!

Before she finished speaking, a figure was blasted into the wall.

She turned around and saw only the Servant confirmed to be Assassin Mercenary Tao standing tall in his original spot, while a corner of Ryūdō Temple had already collapsed.

Bzzzt~

At that moment, the Magic Barrier flickered. In the next instant, several gems pierced through it, and Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya finally crossed the barrier at the mountain gate and arrived at the stone-paved plaza.

"Mr. Kuzuki…"

Souichirou Kuzuki was Taiga Fujimura’s colleague and also a teacher. He had lived at Ryūdō Temple all along, but his presence here at this moment clearly could not be explained as coincidence.

Having painstakingly broken through the Magic Barrier, Rin Tohsaka immediately pulled Shirou Emiya back. With a wave of her hand, Heroic Spirit Emiya and Saber had both arrived before them.

After Mercenary Tao entered the barrier, they had suddenly found the mountain gate sealed off and completely inaccessible. They had also realized that the Master and Servant here likely intended to separate them and defeat them one by one.

They had broken the barrier at top speed, only to discover that the expected scene of Assassin battling Caster had not occurred.

Qiu Luo immediately searched for Mercenary Tao. The next moment, he froze as he saw a familiar black-haired man rise from the rubble. Countless flesh buds writhed over his damaged shoulder as it began to regenerate.

"This is… Kiritsugu Emiya?!"

Shirou Emiya also stared at that figure, rooted to the spot.

Whoosh!

A fierce blast of air howled forth, piercing directly through Kiritsugu Emiya’s brow in the next instant.

Splurt!

His head burst like a balloon. Shirou Emiya felt as if his vision had been dyed red for an instant as he blankly watched his adoptive father slowly fall again.

He turned his head bit by bit. The Magic Circuits within his body seemed to light up one after another, and as if by instinct, a long sword began appearing in his hand.

"You… Mercenary Tao… You actually…"

His words were incoherent as his feet carried him uncontrollably toward Mercenary Tao.