Swish—!
Amid this blissfully tranquil field of flowers, the razor-sharp tachi sliced through the air like crashing thunder, scattering every trace of wind in its wake.
"Haaaah!"
Shirou Kotomine roared fiercely, lunging forward with a swift stride, bringing down his weapon mercilessly toward Shirou Emiya's head.
Even though Shirou Emiya was now only a spiritual form.
Even though Shirou Emiya was already covered in wounds.
Shirou Kotomine showed not an ounce of hesitation, striking with every ounce of strength he possessed, aiming directly for Emiya's skull.
Facing this lightning-fast strike, Shirou Emiya raised his sakabatou, the reverse-blade sword, blocking the incoming blow in front of him.
Clang—!
A crisp ring echoed through the air.
Despite his severely wounded spirit form, Emiya's hands remained uninjured, strong and steady.
Kotomine's savage slash collided violently with the reverse-blade sword held firmly by Emiya's hands, sparks flying brilliantly from the impact. The immense force of the collision forced Emiya to stagger backwards.
"Again—!"
Kotomine didn't waver for even a moment upon seeing his attack deflected. Indeed, it would have been strange if such a straightforward strike had truly harmed Emiya.
Gathering even greater momentum than before, he pressed his assault relentlessly.
This time, the blade in his hands turned into a violent gale, accompanied by swirling gusts wrapped around its edge, slashing ceaselessly towards Emiya.
Each of these strikes—whether in force or trajectory—was executed with incredible precision, so precise that Emiya found them exceptionally challenging to handle.
In his previous life, Shirou Kotomine was never famous as a swordsman. Legends of him wielding weapons were exceedingly scarce; certainly, he possessed no legendary divine techniques.
Yet, he was ultimately still a hero. His techniques were refined enough, though perhaps not comparable to a master swordsman or Servants of the Saber class. Still, his skill had undoubtedly reached an admirable level.
Whoosh—!
A rhythmic breath laced with surging magical energy erupted from Emiya's lips.
It had truly been a long time since he had last used his learned breathing techniques.
To be precise, it had been a long time since he last truly activated his breathing style by channeling magic through it.
Even in ordinary life, Emiya's breathing was naturally rhythmic, subtly adjusting his physical condition. Yet, for him, only when mana flowed through him was his true breathing style activated.
The air around Emiya was instantly drawn into his lungs.
"[Sword Breathing—Wind Style: Cyclone Dance, Gale Slash]!"
This was the very first technique Shirou Emiya had developed after learning Wind Breathing, and also the breathing form he was most proficient in.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
As though the surrounding air itself obeyed Emiya's command, a continuous chain of blade-on-blade collisions echoed sharply through the field.
With swift, wind-like slashes, Emiya successfully blocked Kotomine's relentless assault.
Unable to switch weapons using his [Projection Magecraft] in this current state, Emiya had no choice but to rely purely on his combat experience and refined techniques, managing only to reach the level of a third-rate Servant—equal to Kotomine at best.
After all, Emiya lacked the inherent or class-specific skills that true Servants possessed, nor did he hold a Noble Phantasm that could decisively turn the tide of battle.
Considering Emiya's raw physical abilities, combat experience, and swordsmanship alone, his strength already couldn't be dismissed lightly.
"[Sword Breathing—Thunder Form: Thunderclap and Flash]!"
Whispering these words, Emiya lowered his stance, positioning the sakabatou at his side as dazzling streaks of golden lightning erupted around him.
BOOM—!
In the next instant, Emiya's entire figure transformed into golden lightning, moving at an inconceivable angle. He closed in on Kotomine with the reverse-blade sword tracing an effortless yet violent path, as swift and overwhelming as a thunderbolt itself.
Although Emiya's Thunder Form bestowed astonishing speed, moving at supersonic speeds was merely the entry-level threshold for battles between Heroic Spirits. Emiya's attack speed was still far from breaking that barrier.
While Kotomine couldn't achieve the standard Servant-level supersonic combat speeds, it wasn't difficult for him to clearly perceive Emiya's trajectory.
Moreover, the Noble Phantasms held in his left and right hands granted him the two innate skills—[Eye of the Mind (True)] and [Eye of the Mind (False)].
Almost simultaneously with Emiya's strike, Kotomine instantly read his trajectory and swung his blade in a cold, precise arc.
Claaang—!
The piercing sound of blades colliding reverberated, sending blinding sparks scattering brilliantly into the air.
"Ugh—!"
Kotomine winced slightly as he stumbled back, feeling genuine shock grip his heart.
The tachi Kotomine wielded was no ordinary weapon—it was a genuine Noble Phantasm:
[Mikazuki Munechika].
A legendary sword said to have been favored by a certain famed one-eyed swordsman.
Kotomine had entrusted this blade to Shakespeare, whose enchanting skills had further reinforced it. Shakespeare's enchantments could elevate objects from the mortal world to the realm of Noble Phantasms themselves.
Of course, depending on the item enhanced, the resulting Noble Phantasm's rank varied dramatically.
If Shakespeare enchanted an ordinary stone from the roadside, he could at most elevate it to an E-rank Noble Phantasm.
For mass-produced modern weapons, Shakespeare's enchantments could grant them the power of D-rank Noble Phantasms.
But for weapons with sufficiently legendary status—worthy of Shakespeare's poetic praise—they could even reach the realm of C-rank Noble Phantasms.
Kotomine's sword belonged precisely to this category—a powerful weapon that rivaled a C-rank Noble Phantasm.
Yet, despite this, the projected weapon in Emiya's hands was not damaged in the slightest by their fierce clash.
One must remember—the sword Emiya held now was certainly no Noble Phantasm. It was merely an ordinary katana-shaped weapon projected from common minerals, far beneath even a D-rank Noble Phantasm.
Under normal circumstances, such a fragile weapon should have shattered instantly upon collision with the [Mikazuki Munechika].