Shinji Matou at Your Service

Melting Shinji's rain of arrows in one breath, Shirou immediately switched from defense to offense, stepping on the void and rushing towards Shinji. Shinji, being straightforward, directly canceled the buoyancy acting on him and sank to the bottom of the sea.

Before Shirou could announce the name of his move, Shinji had already figured out his technique—Blade of Ember, West: Sunset Hell Robe, which diffuses the heat stored in the blade, covering the body and burning all incoming threats to ash. It's an all-in-one offensive and defensive move.

The way to counter it was simple: find a way to cool it down.

With the ocean beneath, let's see if you can evaporate the seawater.

Although Shirou was absurdly strong, he ultimately couldn't evaporate the entire ocean. Seeing Shinji entering the water, he immediately reduced the heat around his body, hovering about a hundred meters above the sea surface.

The battle reached a stalemate.

Shirou couldn't evaporate the ocean, and rashly entering the water would severely affect his movement, so he could only let Shinji hide in the sea.

Shinji was also helpless; getting close would mean facing unbearable heat, and long-range arrows couldn't penetrate the Sunset Hell Robe. The more troublesome part was Shirou's Dimensional Leap, a skill that had saved Shirou from peril many times. Without a way to counter this skill, Shinji couldn't truly defeat Shirou.

Thus, the two could only glare at each other across the seawater, using telepathy to mock each other.

"You come out."

"Not coming out, unless you stop using the Sunset Hell Robe."

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"How about you come down?"

"Okay, I'll come down if you remove your Third Magic."

"Deal, you come down, and I won't use it."

"Really won't use it?"

"Really won't use it!"

Shinji demonstrated his sincerity with actions, applying a water-diversion rune to himself and then truly removing his Third Magic: Transformation.

"Alright, wait there, I'm coming down!"

Shirou didn't hesitate either, diving into the water and kicking towards Shinji. Shinji also kicked his legs, gripping the Balmung and charging at Shirou. Both seemed intent on having a long-awaited head-on collision.

However, just before the collision, a tremendous magic power erupted from Shinji's body, and the previously dissipated magic aspect reformed. Balmung and four fists rained down on Shirou like a storm.

Unexpectedly, Shirou moved faster. Before the Transformation could solidify, his figure blurred, and he Dimensional Leaped out of the water.

"I guessed you would cheat, good thing I held back."

"How did I cheat? You asked me to remove my Transformation, but you didn't say I couldn't reform it."

"So if I remove my Sunset Hell Robe, will you come out?"

"And then you put it back on? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"You're not stupid, just a bit slow. If you have the guts, don't come out."

"Fine, I won't come out. Let's see who outlasts whom!"

Shinji's words hit Shirou's weak spot. His current strength was entirely supported by command spells. Once the effects of the command spells wore off, even three Shirous wouldn't be able to defeat Shinji, who had grasped the Third Magic and awakened his origin.

The mastermind behind this Holy Grail War sighed helplessly:

"I can't outlast you. In a few minutes, the effects of the command spells will end."

This also meant that Shinji had only a few minutes left if he still intended to defeat Shirou in his strongest state.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"I will concentrate all my remaining magic power into the next strike."

"I see, going all out for one final clash?"

"Exactly, dare you?"

Shinji snorted, "What's there to be afraid of?"

Shirou laughed heartily, "That's right, this is the You that I know."

"The 'You' that I Know...?"

"The rest can wait until after we finish this."

"Alright, I'll wait for your explanation. Come on, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada!"

"Bring it on, Matou Shinji!"

The red star once again shone with a dazzling brilliance. It was Shirou's entire magical power, the last radiance of his command spells, which were about to be exhausted.

With this surge of magical power, the heat around Shirou began to rise rapidly. In just a few seconds, the seawater beneath him started to boil.

There was no doubt that Shirou's next strike would be terrifying.

Witnessing such a display of power from his enemy, Shinji was at a loss. He didn't know what kind of move to use as the final blow.

Whether it was the previous close combat or the subsequent arrow storm, their destructive power was somewhat lacking.

Releasing the true names of the Fantasy Great Sword and the Immortal Blade was an option, but Shinji felt it would be a bit regretful. Firstly, it was the final move, and he didn't want to use someone else's technique. Secondly, these two Noble Phantasms might not even be able to match Shirou's last strike.

It had to be something of his own, capable of matching the terrifying incoming strike. After much consideration, Shinji could only think of one answer—explosion, a pure and true strike.

Though it seemed odd, it was indeed his most proficient and powerful technique at the moment.

Alright, let's do it.

The Transformation was a combination of faith and magic. He would inject all the power he could currently muster into it, then infuse the faith of his Noble Phantasms to create an unprecedented super bomb!

Yes, he decided, he would use this bomb as a grand finale firework.

With this in mind, Shinji began to gather his breath, concentrating all his power. Only by doing so could he unleash his strongest strike and overwhelm Shirou in this final move.

Magic was drawn out, thoughts were focused, and faith was compressed—each step was performed methodically.

One had to admit—

"—You have an outstanding talent in this area, but—"

A voice interrupted Shinji's concentration, not a pure thought from a relative or friend, but a direct telepathic message.

"Who?"

"Can't you recognize my voice?"

A deep, magnetic, majestic yet pleasant voice instantly triggered Shinji's memory.

"Shishou? But—"

"Just because it's a different world, I'm always your Shishou."

This statement confirmed Shinji's suspicion. The voice belonged to Scathach, the Scathach of this world, someone he had no interaction with. However, even without any interaction, it wasn't surprising that Scathach, with her vast abilities, could see through Shinji's origin, given that most of his skills came from her.

"How could that be? No matter the world, I am your disciple, as long as you are willing."

"Hmm, you know how to speak well. No wonder the me in the other world was willing to take you in."

Scathach seemed quite pleased with Shinji's response.

"Do you have any instructions, Shishou? If there's nothing urgent, let me throw this first."

"You can't throw it."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because it's too wasteful. Such a precious thing shouldn't be used as a bomb. There are ways to defeat the enemy other than explosions."

"???"

"Concentrate and feel with your heart—now that you have grasped magic, you should be able to understand."

And then, Shinji saw it: that grand battle at the end of the Age of Gods, that catastrophe that swept across Northern Europe, and—the magical chapter that could rival the pinnacle of the sword.