Looking at the heavily bandaged Rosmontis lying unconscious in Blaze's arms, as someone familiar with her, and as an older figure in her life, Shirou was furious.
Furious at Rhodes Island, at Blaze, at Ace, at Scout, and at the other operators.
But most of all, furious at the swarm of infected creatures behind them and the enemies they had encountered during their mission.
Shirou knew why Rosmontis had become an elite operator.
But that did not mean he could stay calm after seeing her like this.
At the same time, he understood very clearly that this was not Blaze and the others' fault.
The one truly at fault was this land itself.
This land that devoured human lives.
Even so, there were still people struggling desperately to pursue tomorrow.
And he would help those people.
In any case, he would start with a small objective first.
Eliminate the infected creatures in front of him.
"Trace on— Full Projection Continuous Layering!"
Having decided what needed to be done, Shirou straightened his body atop the moving vehicle. Supporting himself with magical energy, he raised his right hand high.
Countless phantom blades materialized around him.
With a swing of his hand, the swords solidified and shot toward the swarm of High Originium Slugs behind them.
Countless blue streaks crossed through the air like an enormous woven net enveloping the infected creatures.
Rip— BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—
The blades pierced through one High Originium Slug after another until they could no longer continue flying.
"Broken Phantasm!"
The swords that could no longer continue attacking released the last of their remaining energy, transforming into miniature Broken Phantasms that annihilated group after group of High Originium Slugs.
This style of combat consumed enormous amounts of Shirou's magical energy and mental focus.
But at this moment, Shirou simply did not care.
Those golden eyes allowed him to calculate attack paths with extreme precision and destroy his enemies at the smallest possible cost.
Although Shirou was filled with rage, his mind remained calm.
The reason he wanted to eliminate the infected creatures behind them was not only to ensure Rhodes Island's elite squads could safely return.
It was also to prevent the creatures from scattering everywhere once they lost their targets.
Each infected creature was essentially equivalent to a walking Originium explosive.
Not only ordinary civilians, but even someone like Ace carrying a shield could still be injured if caught in an explosion.
And if such an enormous swarm of infected creatures were simply ignored, the destruction they caused would probably rival a Catastrophe itself.
"Shirou! Calm down!"
Watching the massive swarms of infected creatures being wiped out at incredible speed, Ace and Scout certainly felt relief.
Yet they could not feel any joy at being saved.
Shirou's emotions were clearly far too unstable right now.
The communicator continued faithfully doing its job, meaning every operator connected to the channel had heard Shirou's voice when he shouted those words.
Some parts were difficult to understand.
But emotion itself needed no translation.
"I am very calm."
Unlike the low, heavy voice from earlier, Shirou's voice now sounded extremely composed.
But the contrast was so drastic that it only made Scout more worried.
After briefly informing his squad, Scout climbed out through the vehicle window and onto the roof while carrying his gun.
He did not have much etched ammunition left, but he could still provide some support.
More importantly, he wanted to personally confirm Shirou's current condition.
"...You do not look calm at all!"
Looking at the strange glowing lines covering Shirou's body, Scout spoke.
He understood perfectly why Shirou had suddenly become so emotional.
The vehicle Shirou had boarded belonged to Blaze's squad, and Rosmontis was inside it.
Since Shirou was close to Rosmontis, it was only natural for him to lose his temper after seeing those injuries.
And it was not only Shirou.
They themselves were furious as well.
The difference was that they understood what they needed to do. They could not allow anger to blind them.
There were too many responsibilities resting on their shoulders.
Several squads.
Dozens of operators' lives.
One mistake in command from him could result in every single one of them dying.
Though none of them feared death, if they were going to die, it could not be in such a meaningless way.
At the very least, they had to squeeze out every final bit of value from their lives before dying.
It was cold.
It was ruthless.
But that was the reality Rhodes Island operators faced every single day.
Especially for elite operators like him, who saw even more of it and understood it more deeply.
In this regard, Shirou was still too young...
Though the problem was that he genuinely had the ability to back himself up.
At the very least, the firepower he had displayed over the past few minutes already surpassed that of many others.
The question was whether this was his limit.
Or whether he was overexerting his body to produce such absurd firepower.
Regardless of which it was, Rhodes Island currently possessed no means of opposing that kind of power.
Not to mention, if that gigantic "something-something Ig-Al" sword from earlier had fallen directly onto Rhodes Island...
The entire landship probably would have been crippled.
Scout had not managed to remember the sword's name. At the time, Shirou had been performing a "Blaze-style jump," and the communicator had been full of static.
"I really am calm. Trust me."
While continuing to direct countless swords with magical energy, Shirou turned toward Scout as he spoke.
Looking into those emotionless golden eyes, Scout's first thought was Nameless.
But he quickly pushed that thought aside.
Unlike Nameless, the Shirou before him still had something else remaining in his eyes.
Still...
With all these clues laid out in front of him, Scout felt as though he had discovered something important.
But that was not something worth thinking about right now.
"I will help you. You have already cleared out enough. Rhodes Island has enough personnel waiting ahead to handle the rest. Do not destroy yourself here."
After saying that, Scout raised his gun and began firing at the infected creatures closest behind them.
Not all the infected creatures behind them were High Originium Slugs.
There were also ordinary slugs and larger variants mixed in.
Though being chased by slugs sounded incredibly pathetic, the real issue was their overwhelming numbers, especially with so many High Originium Slugs among them.
If the swarm behind them had consisted of only ordinary Originium Slugs, they would have been fully capable of wiping them out themselves. Things would never have become this disastrous.
"Scout is right. The most important thing on the battlefield is staying calm. You also need to conserve some stamina in case something unexpected happens."
Ace joined the conversation at this moment.
Since he lacked long-range attack methods, he had not climbed onto the roof alongside the other two.
Still, he could clearly see the swarm of infected creatures behind them shrinking at a visible rate.
And in the distance, the gigantic sword blocking most of the slugs' path vanished after completing its task.
Clearly another one of Shirou's abilities.
All Ace could say was that the firepower was truly absurd.
Thank goodness Amiya had sent Shirou to reinforce them.
Otherwise, they probably would have been forced to make a desperate stand back there.
"..."
Listening to the two men, Shirou took a deep breath and gradually calmed himself.
At the same time, the countless phantom blades surrounding him slowly faded away, while the magic circuits on his body receded from sight.
The moment he stopped attacking, exhaustion surged over him.
The sudden wave of fatigue nearly caused Shirou to fall off the vehicle. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough to grab onto one of the roof supports.
If he had fallen now, he probably would not have been able to catch up to the convoy again.
He would have been left behind to face the infected creatures alone.
"You alright?"
After firing his remaining ammunition, Scout turned toward Shirou.
Compared to how he looked earlier, Shirou now appeared noticeably worn out.
His chest rose and fell heavily with ragged breaths, while cold sweat continuously dripped from his forehead.
"The sudden consumption was a bit too much. It is nothing serious."
Seeing that the convoy was getting closer and closer to Rhodes Island's main landship, where large numbers of operators were already preparing for battle, Shirou finally dismissed his Mystic Code.
What he said was true.
Projecting the Ig-Alima in the first place had already been an impossible feat.
Even if it had only been an empty shell, it still consumed an enormous amount of magical energy.
And it had all been expended in one burst rather than gathered gradually, placing tremendous strain on him.
On top of that, seeing Rosmontis in that condition had caused him to burn through even more magical energy afterward...
Still, the situation was not too terrible.
A little rest would be enough for recovery.
At the very least, compared to Rosmontis, his condition was far better.
As the convoy continued forward and finally passed behind the Rhodes Island operators waiting in battle formation, the vehicles finally came to a stop.
"Little kitty is in your hands now! I am going to help clean up the remaining enemies first!"
The moment Shirou jumped down, Blaze shoved Rosmontis into his care before charging toward the infected swarm with her chainsaw in hand.
And it was not only Blaze.
Ace and the other operators did the same, each grabbing their weapons and rushing forward to reinforce the battlefield.
After being chased all the way here, anyone would be furious.
"Good work. Get some proper rest! Report to the medical department first. Leave the rest to us!"
Meanwhile, Scout pushed Shirou, who was carrying Rosmontis, straight toward the landship.
He was still waiting for his ammunition to be resupplied, so while there was still time, he wanted to send this guy to the medical department and have others keep an eye on him.
He had already informed Amiya about this beforehand, and Amiya would handle things afterward.
"Alright, alright, stop pushing! I am going to trip!"
Being shoved forward, Shirou nearly slipped and fell. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough to avoid embarrassing himself.
Honestly, he did not have any better options right now anyway.
There were too many people fighting up ahead for him to continue providing fire support effectively.
And Rosmontis also needed immediate treatment.
Holding Rosmontis carefully in his arms, Shirou deliberately slowed his steps.
"Over here! The medical operators are ready!"
The instant he stepped into the medical department, Shirou heard Amiya's voice.
Looking up, he saw Amiya standing together with several operators beside her.
He recognized all of them, though they usually wore white coats...
Why had they all taken them off now?
For a moment, he almost failed to recognize them.
Still, he did not ask any questions.
He gently laid Rosmontis onto the hospital bed, leaving the rest in the doctors' hands.
Amiya then pulled Shirou outside.
"I already understand the overall situation. Because of your efforts, Blaze Squad, Rosmontis Squad, Ace Squad, and Scout Squad were all able to return safely."
Amiya sincerely thanked Shirou.
Thanks to his assistance, everyone had been brought back without any casualties.
But after the gratitude came the reckoning.
Maintaining the same sincere expression, now mixed with an unsettling gentleness, Amiya continued:
"However, I remember clearly telling you not to push yourself. With your abilities, you should have been able to provide effective long-range support from the Bad Guy, correct? Then why exactly did you jump down from that height? I hope you can provide me with a reasonable explanation."
"Well... my attacks are a bit too destructive. They would have affected the Bad Guy. That thing is rare and expensive, right? It would have been terrible if I damaged it."
Feeling the pressure radiating from Amiya, Shirou hurriedly explained himself.
Under normal circumstances, if a single Caladbolg combined with Broken Phantasm could have solved everything, then all he would have needed was for the pilot to maintain stability briefly.
But reality did not allow that.
So he had been forced to choose a less destructive but multi-stage attack method instead.
However, the fluctuations from his magical energy would very likely have continuously interfered with the aircraft's flight stability.
That was why he chose to jump.
As for why he had not brought a parachute, the reason was simple.
What he projected had been enormous.
The impact from its landing alone had created massive disturbances. If he had used a parachute, there was a very real chance he would not have reached the ground in time and would instead have drifted directly into the infected swarm.
And besides, if he could land safely on his own, why waste a parachute?
"Aircraft may be expensive, but they are not more valuable than a person's life! Besides, as long as the wreckage remains, Closure can repair it!"
The moment Amiya heard Shirou's explanation, she immediately raised a finger and pointed directly at his nose while scolding him.
Not counting her rabbit ears, Amiya was a full head shorter than Shirou.
Yet at this moment, her presence felt overwhelmingly imposing, forcing Shirou to retreat several steps backward.
Unfortunately for him, every step he retreated was matched by Amiya advancing one step closer.
Only when Shirou backed directly into the wall did she finally stop.
She was furious right now.
Extremely furious.
She had repeatedly warned him before departure, yet he had still chosen the most dangerous possible option.
Amiya had already decided to organize every detail of this incident and report it directly to Emperor so he would understand exactly how reckless Shirou truly was.
Even if it was somewhat unfair considering Shirou had just done Rhodes Island a huge favor, Amiya still intended to do it.
After all, she had only been threatened by Shirou penguin earlier this morning.
Surely reporting Shirou's reckless behavior in return was not unreasonable.
"Calm down! This is the medical department! There are other patients here!"
Sweating nervously, Shirou tried to calm Amiya down.
Just moments ago, countless people had been telling him to calm down.
Now the roles had reversed, and he was the one trying to calm someone else.
Karma truly came quickly.
Still, he knew he was in the wrong, so he could not really argue back.
All he could do was use the other patients in the medical department as shields.
"It is fine, it is fine. Please continue."
The surrounding patients immediately pulled their curtains shut, generously giving the two of them privacy.
However, Shirou could still see eyes peeking through the gaps in the curtains.
Lungmen profanity.
So it was not only Lungmen people who loved watching drama.
All of Terra apparently loved spectating.
At this point, Shirou could only obediently listen to Amiya's lecture while internally complaining about everything happening around him.