Inside Bad Guy, Shirou looked out through the window at the situation outside.
The situation seemed even worse than Amiya had described. Just looking at the densely packed swarm of infected creatures was enough to make Shirou feel nauseous.
"Is that Rhodes Island support? Do not come down! These Originium Slugs explode! If you get caught in it, you will either die or be severely injured!"
As they drew closer, the communication device aboard Bad Guy connected, and Ace's voice rang out.
Just from his tone alone, it was obvious that he was genuinely agitated right now. That was only natural. Anyone being chased by a gigantic swarm of living bombs would feel irritated and frantic.
One mistake, and they would be caught in a chain explosion.
Recalling some of the related information Yith had explained to him before, Shirou estimated that if all the infected creatures behind them detonated at once, the destructive power would be terrifying.
If he attacked recklessly, there was a high possibility he would accidentally affect the people currently fleeing.
"Shirou, can you hear me?"
Just as Shirou was considering how to handle the situation, another voice came through the communicator.
It was Kal'tsit.
"Yes. What is it?"
The moment he heard Kal'tsit's voice, Shirou immediately focused his attention.
Originally, he had been considering solving the problem with a Broken Phantasm, but he was still worried it might affect Rosmontis and the others.
"I came to remind you not to destroy the terrain... This area is one of the routes used by mobile cities. If the terrain suffers large-scale damage, mobile cities may be forced to abandon this relatively safe route in the future."
Kal'tsit's calm voice came through the communicator.
After learning that Amiya had sent Shirou to reinforce Rhodes Island's operators, Kal'tsit had not objected. She merely contacted him to give a brief warning.
She was genuinely worried that Shirou might accidentally alter the surrounding landscape with one attack, which could make future movement for mobile cities extremely inconvenient.
This was also one of the primary reasons she feared the possibility of the others connected to Shirou descending upon this land.
Their destructive power was simply too overwhelming.
Even though she had never personally witnessed it, Kal'tsit believed Shirou was fully capable of such destruction.
"Alright. Good thing you mentioned it early."
After hearing Kal'tsit's warning, Shirou sighed.
"Or perhaps it is better to say good thing you had not attacked yet. In any case, pay attention to your safety. Emperor, your boss specifically contacted me and told me about you and the girls from Penguin Logistics. I do not want that penguin storming Rhodes Island. Besides, in a few days you still need to cooperate with Amiya's treatment. If you get injured now, she will definitely refuse again."
After saying that, the communication ended, leaving Shirou and the pilot staring awkwardly at one another.
"When I say open the door, open it."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou spoke.
The idea of using a Broken Phantasm had been killed before it even began, though that was not too big of a problem. After all, what he had originally planned to use was a maximum-scale version. A smaller-scale one probably would not cause major issues.
It would just be more troublesome, so he might as well avoid using it altogether.
There was also another issue he had failed to consider.
If he caused too much destruction aboard the aircraft, there was a chance both he and the aircraft itself would become part of the Broken Phantasm explosion.
Just imagining that scene felt horrifying enough. Better not gamble with his life.
"Understood. The parachutes are under the seats. Operator Shirou, just take one and put it on. I have also connected your communication channel, so you can speak directly with Mister Ace and the others."
While piloting the aircraft, the pilot calmly handled the various preparations.
Everything about this operation had happened too suddenly, so there were only two people aboard Bad Guy: himself and Shirou.
Still, he was an experienced veteran. He could afford to divide his attention while handling other tasks.
"Got it."
Shirou glanced down and indeed found parachutes beneath the seats, though he had no intention of taking one.
At this height, reinforcement magecraft would already be enough to avoid major problems, not to mention his Mystic Codes.
After hearing static through the communicator, Shirou knew the channel had connected.
"This is Shirou. I will be heading down to support you shortly."
Pressing the communicator at his ear, Shirou spoke.
The aircraft was already approaching the operators below, which meant it was time for him to act.
Under the current limitations, Shirou had no intention of following Amiya's original plan and simply sniping from the aircraft. The operators below clearly were not in good condition, and the infected creature swarm behind them was moving extremely quickly. It would probably catch up to the vehicles within minutes.
That was very bad news.
Even under ideal conditions, it would still take at least twenty minutes for them to reach Rhodes Island's main landship.
If the swarm caught them, they would be forced into direct combat on the spot.
Those were Explosive Originium Slugs. Getting blown up by one at close range was practically like eating an Originium explosive.
And there was an entire swarm of them.
"This is Scout. We are low on etched ammunition, and there are many injured personnel. We cannot engage them head-on! The only ones still capable of combat are Elite Operators Blaze and Ace, along with roughly ten standard operators!"
Hearing Shirou's words, Scout immediately tried to stop him.
At a time like this, they absolutely could not let him come down. It would only place Shirou in danger.
"...You do not need to fight them head-on. I will hold back the infected creatures behind you. You only need to pick me up afterward."
After hearing Scout's explanation, Shirou formed a rough plan.
At the same time, Bad Guy had already arrived directly above them. Following Shirou's request, the pilot intentionally pushed the aircraft to its maximum safe altitude.
Its original flight altitude was already higher than most buildings, and now it had climbed even further.
Technically, they could go higher still, but the density of Originium dust at those heights was far greater. Just one breath could potentially turn someone into an Infected.
This was already the highest safely possible altitude.
"Sarkaz profanity What kind of stupid nonsense are you talking about?"
Hearing Shirou's words, even Scout could not help blurting out a curse.
After enduring intense combat and now being chased down afterward, his mood was already terrible.
And now Shirou was saying he could hold back that massive swarm of infected creatures behind them and wanted them to pick him up afterward?
At this point, those infected creatures could practically crawl all over Rhodes Island itself.
Under normal circumstances, nobody would ever encounter such an enormous swarm of High Originium Slugs. The problem was that during the earlier battle, enemy casters had disturbed a nest of them and, before retreating, issued orders directing them to pursue and kill the Rhodes Island squads.
Originium Slugs were naturally easy to control, so the moment they received the order, they all surged forward at once.
If Rosmontis and the other operators had not used Arts to delay them earlier, they probably would not even have had the opportunity to board the vehicles.
The price for that delay was the heavily injured operators now aboard the vehicles, while Rosmontis herself had fallen unconscious from overusing her Arts.
Their own survival was already uncertain, and Shirou's side apparently consisted of only himself with no additional support.
This was suicide.
They did not need another life thrown away alongside theirs.
"I know what I am doing. Get ready to fight. Some might slip through. Open the door!"
Shirou paid no attention to Scout's objections. After calculating the position and altitude, he directly shouted his command.
The instant the word "door" left his mouth, the hatch before him opened. Violent winds immediately seized his body.
Shirou did not resist at all and simply allowed the rushing airflow to drag him outward.
"...Wait, where is his parachute? Columbian profanity Another Blaze-style stunt?"
Because he needed to close the hatch immediately after Shirou jumped, the pilot had been paying close attention the moment Shirou gave the order.
But it looked like...
He was not wearing a parachute.
This no longer counted as parachuting.
This was just jumping out of the aircraft.
Meanwhile, high in the sky, Shirou's body fell in a spread-eagle posture. The clothing on his body shifted from the Rhodes Island jacket and ordinary pants into his red Mystic Code.
Perhaps it was only his imagination, but Shirou felt that the Mystic Code's performance had weakened somewhat. In exchange, however, his control over magecraft had improved significantly.
This was probably Archer's gift to him.
And he intended to use it properly.
Discarding all unrelated thoughts, Shirou activated every magic circuit in his body while still suspended in midair.
This time, he intended to project something enormous.
The magical energy consumption would be immense.
"That idiot really jumped down to support us! Prepare for combat! The moment Shirou gets aboard, we continue retreating!"
Scout could hear the deafening roar of wind from Shirou's side through the communicator, enough to make his ears ache, but he still did not disconnect the channel and instead immediately began issuing commands.
"...Scout, Shirou did not take a parachute."
Ace spoke after receiving the pilot's report.
Scout: "?"
What kind of Blaze nonsense was this?
Even Blaze herself would probably have trouble jumping from this altitude.
True, Blaze was one of those people who did not use parachutes either, but that was because her Originium Arts allowed her to land safely.
So what about Shirou?
Was he planning to project a parachute in midair?
Honestly... that somehow sounded plausible.
Meanwhile, all the other operators had spotted the red figure descending from the sky, and many of them looked nervous.
A small number of operators had already prepared themselves to jump down and delay the swarm the moment the Originium Slugs caught up.
If possible, they did not want to die here either.
But under the current circumstances, the conditions were simply too harsh.
If they did nothing, everyone would die.
If they acted, at least the others might still have a chance to survive.
As operators who had fought through life and death alongside elite operators, they all understood this principle.
And now, all their hopes rested upon that red figure falling from the sky.
"Trace on—!"
As the chant rang out, magic circuits spread across most of Shirou's body, while his originally brown eyes began glowing gold.
Bzzzt—
The magic circuits emitted violent crackling sounds, and Shirou could feel them heating up rapidly.
Enduring both the scorching sensation within his body and the immense pressure of falling from such a height, Shirou poured massive amounts of magical energy into the projection.
The silhouette of an enormous sword gradually materialized in midair.
Gritting his teeth against both the burning pain of his magic circuits and the pressure of freefall, Shirou shouted the sword's true name—
"Ig-Alima!"
As Shirou roared the name, the massive sword gradually solidified before beginning its descent toward the ground.
This was a divine construct.
One of the twin swords of the Mesopotamian god of war, also known as the Mountain-Splitting Sword.
Ordinarily, this should have been impossible to project.
Yet an Emiya Shirou from certain memories had accomplished that impossible feat, and Shirou himself was merely recreating the sword through those memories.
He truly had to admit that version of Emiya Shirou possessed unbelievably powerful conviction.
During the projection process, Shirou repeatedly felt the urge to stop.
Both mental and physical pain continuously assaulted him.
Yet he endured it.
Though what he created was merely an empty shell, it was more than enough for the current situation.
After all, what he needed was simply the gigantic blade itself.
It would be enough to block those infected creatures for dozens of seconds.
And that was already enough time for Ace and the others to widen the distance with their vehicles.
Once the distance was opened up, Shirou would finally be able to attack freely from aboard the vehicles without worrying about hitting his allies.
"Pinch me for a second. Did my eyes break or something?"
Looking at the gigantic blade that had suddenly appeared in midair, Blaze, who was carrying Rosmontis in her arms, stared blankly in shock.
Unfortunately, the operator beside her was equally stunned by the scene before them and completely failed to hear Blaze's words.
And it was not just Blaze and that operator.
Everyone present who witnessed the giant sword materialize reacted the same way.
After all, the sight before them was simply too spectacular.
Boom—
As the Ig-Alima descended, enormous clouds of dust were thrown into the air.
Meanwhile, Shirou relied on his Mystic Code to land steadily before immediately sprinting toward the vehicles.
With the convoy slightly slowing down, Shirou quickly caught up and leapt onto the roof of one of the vehicles.
Out of the dozens of vehicles, he specifically chose one with less clutter on top.
"I am aboard."
Even after climbing on, he still remembered to report in.
"Huh? Oh, alright... wait? You are aboard already?"
Scout still had not fully recovered from the shock of what he had just witnessed. It was only after hearing Shirou's voice that he finally snapped back to reality a little.
At this moment Ig-Alima was perfectly fulfilling its role as a barrier.
Its enormous blade forced the Originium Slugs either to take detours or climb over the sword itself.
As for the few High Originium Slugs that had not been blocked by the sword, the violent vibrations had destabilized the energy within their bodies, causing them to explode on their own.
Originally, Shirou had planned to personally deal with these stragglers, but it turned out he did not need to act at all.
And honestly, if not for Kal'tsit's earlier warning, Shirou was genuinely tempted to use a Broken Phantasm on Ig-Alima itself.
After consuming that much magical energy, the explosion would definitely look spectacular.
"No, no, do not let Exusiai infect you with weird ideas..."
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Shirou suddenly shivered and shook his head, forcefully throwing away the dangerous idea before pressing the communicator.
"Yeah, I am already on board. I am standing on top of one of the vehicles right now."
"I think it might be my vehicle?" Blaze suddenly said.
She thought she had felt the vehicle shake slightly just now. At the moment, everyone aboard the vehicle looked nervous.
After all, those were High Originium Slugs. If they accidentally attracted one...
The entire vehicle would explode.
"Let me check... looks like it really is. I can see you."
After hearing Blaze's words, Shirou leaned over the side slightly and immediately spotted the familiar black figure.
As well as the person in her arms.
Rosmontis, covered almost entirely in bandages.