"Hiss... Being thrown down like that, my legs are still a little numb."
Standing amidst the swirling dust, Shirou placed a hand on the axe-sword embedded in the ground and let out a brief remark.
If he had traveled here normally, it would have taken much longer to arrive. That was why he had asked Rosmontis to use her Originium Arts to throw him down here.
The arrival speed was certainly impressive.
The downside was that it was rather hard on the legs.
Still, the situation had been urgent, so he was not about to complain.
"Sorry, but the road ahead is closed."
Holding the axe-sword horizontally at his side, Shirou focused his attention on the towering figure before him.
Although the dust cloud obscured much of his vision, the pair of crimson eyes remained highly visible.
As the dust gradually settled, Shirou was finally able to make out his opponent more clearly.
Judging by the other's stance, he appeared ready to fight.
If possible, Shirou would have preferred to avoid battle.
Rather than engaging in a full fight with an opponent who looked extremely troublesome, it would be better to simply keep him occupied and prevent him from approaching Rhodes Island's main force.
Fighting at full power was certainly an option...
But it was unnecessary.
The road ahead remained filled with unknown dangers. If he exhausted all his mana here, things could become problematic later.
Very quickly, Shirou settled on a plan of action.
"Archer? No... you are not him. You are too young."
The Wendigo swung his massive halberd with force, generating a powerful gust that scattered the surrounding dust and finally revealed Shirou's appearance.
The clothing was the same.
The face was entirely different.
Youthful.
Energetic.
Full of vitality.
Those were the Wendigo's first impressions.
The person before him was young and lacked the same sense of decay carried by himself and his kin.
And those golden eyes...
They resembled a freshly lit campfire, burning brightly with life.
"Tch. Someone that guy knows?"
Just as the Wendigo had finally seen Shirou clearly, Shirou had also gotten a good look at his opponent.
From his appearance to his manner of speaking, the man felt almost like a machine.
Although intimidating, it was nothing particularly special from Shirou's perspective.
What truly caught his attention were the two cloth bands wrapped around the Wendigo's arm.
Even though the man had mentioned Archer, and despite the orange and red bands marking him out, Shirou remained cautious.
After all, the Wendigo had just attacked Rhodes Island personnel.
And at the moment, Shirou still harbored suspicions toward anyone wearing those two colored bands.
Some of the people involved in the earlier incident had worn the same combination.
Right now, he had no time to determine whether the Wendigo was friend or foe.
The weather conditions were deteriorating, and the Rhodes Island operators had already fought through numerous battles.
He needed to finish things here and move on to support the others.
So he decided to stick with the plan he had already formulated.
With that thought, Shirou made the first move.
Despite the axe-sword's enormous size and seemingly cumbersome weight, it moved with remarkable speed and agility in his hands.
The blade slammed into the Wendigo's halberd.
A tremendous clang rang out as sparks erupted from the collision.
"Your strength... is too weak."
The Wendigo blocked the attack with his halberd.
The respirator on his chest began operating, producing a low mechanical hum.
"You are not much different, are you?"
Looking directly at the pair of red lights glowing within the helmet, Shirou showed no trace of panic.
He reversed his grip on the axe-sword, twisted his body, and launched another attack.
The lack of power was only natural.
He was not fighting seriously.
Just as the Wendigo was holding back, Shirou was doing the same.
Shirou was conserving his strength because he did not want to become overly entangled in this fight.
The Wendigo, on the other hand, had determined that Shirou was somehow connected to Archer and was therefore exercising restraint as well.
His true target was the Cautus from earlier.
However, the matter was not so urgent that it needed to be resolved immediately.
The people had already escaped far away.
Meanwhile, he still needed to suppress the rioters manipulated by the Black Snake.
As for which task took priority, he knew perfectly well.
Unfortunately, neither side understood the other's intentions.
As a result, they continued exchanging blows.
For the most part, it was Shirou attacking unilaterally.
He was not using mana at all.
He was simply swinging the axe-sword.
The reason he had chosen to project this particular weapon in the first place was simple.
Its size was just right for intervening between Ace and the Wendigo.
If he projected something too large, it might accidentally injure allies and would consume more mana.
If he projected something too small, it might fail to deter the opponent.
Besides...
Fighting a giant with an axe-sword felt surprisingly appropriate.
And after being hurled through the air by Rosmontis, some physical reinforcement had been absolutely necessary.
While keeping the Wendigo occupied, Shirou also waited for a signal from Rhodes Island.
Once the Rhodes Island personnel reached a relatively safe location, he would find an opportunity to retreat.
Meanwhile, the Rhodes Island group was in the middle of their withdrawal.
"Move it, move it! Shirou is already fighting that giant! Victoria profanity! How is he using that huge thing like a one-handed sword? That is amazing!"
Aboard the aircraft, Blaze held a pair of binoculars.
While monitoring whether Amiya and the others had escaped danger, she also spared some attention for Shirou's battle.
Unlike the precise and lightning-fast sword fights he usually displayed, Shirou's current fighting style was much closer to her own.
Watching it made Blaze's blood boil with excitement.
The other six people aboard the aircraft:
"..."
Although everyone knew she was trying to urge the Rhodes Island operators to move faster, her commentary sounded far too much like a sports broadcast.
"Blaze, focus. How is Shirou's situation over there?"
Amiya's voice came through the communicator.
The communication conditions were poor at the moment, so the audio was heavily distorted, every sentence accompanied by harsh static.
Because of that, Blaze's long stream of commentary had made everyone's ears on the other end ring painfully.
"Sorry, sorry. Nothing major is happening on Shirou's side. They are still fighting. Most of the attacking is being done by Shirou, while the other guy is mainly defending."
Hearing Amiya's words, Blaze remembered the communication problems and quickly cut down on unnecessary chatter, reporting the situation in as few words as possible.
"This distance is already safe enough. Tell Shirou to withdraw."
While Blaze was still describing the battle, the Doctor's voice interrupted her.
The main Rhodes Island force had already retreated a considerable distance.
Not extremely far, but according to the Doctor's calculations, it was sufficient.
From Blaze's reports, it was clear that the Wendigo had shown very little intent to attack during his clash with Shirou.
Based on that, it could be inferred that his hostility toward Rhodes Island was not particularly strong.
As for why he had attempted to attack Amiya earlier...
Perhaps it had simply been because he happened to encounter her.
There was too little information to make a definite judgment.
Still, even setting those assumptions aside, considering the man's equipment and appearance, the current distance was relatively safe.
The worst-case scenario would be if he had reinforcements, or if that suit of armor could somehow be removed.
Regardless, leaving Shirou the one who had rushed over to support them to fight alone was dangerous.
Their highest priority right now was gathering everyone together as quickly as possible and withdrawing to the landship known as Rhodes Island.
"..."
After hearing the Doctor's suggestion, Blaze fell silent.
The reason was simple.
Trust had not yet been established.
And she had only recently learned that the Doctor had lost their memories.
"Follow the Doctor's orders."
Seeing Blaze's hesitation, Amiya immediately understood what she was thinking.
Several operators had shared the same doubts earlier.
That was only natural.
The Doctor had been sent to Chernobog before Rhodes Island was even founded, so operators who joined afterward naturally had no way of recognizing them.
Meanwhile, most of the operators had already witnessed the Doctor's command abilities firsthand and had begun to trust them.
"Understood. We will launch the signal flare immediately. Prepare yourselves over there."
Only after hearing Amiya's words did Blaze finally agree.
She pulled out a signal flare and fired it into the sky.
The flare burst overhead, drawing the attention of countless people throughout Chernobog.
Including Shirou and the Wendigo.
"So that is it. From the very beginning... this was your plan?"
When the Wendigo saw the flare explode overhead and noticed Shirou immediately disengaging in preparation to leave, he finally realized that Shirou's objective had been to stall for time all along.
"Correct. But there is no prize for you, big guy."
After spotting the flare, Shirou casually replied while considering whether he should dig a trench or collapse a few walls to create obstacles.
The city already looked like a disaster zone.
One more crater or a few missing walls probably would not matter much.
"..."
At that moment, the Wendigo suddenly became convinced that the young man had some connection to Archer.
They both looked perfectly respectable.
So how had they both ended up with mouths like that?
Seeing that Shirou had no intention of continuing the fight, the Wendigo Patriot also lowered his weapon.
"Hm... So you were holding back too?"
Watching Patriot's reaction, Shirou confirmed the suspicion he had been forming.
The dangerous aura radiating from the man had completely contradicted his earlier behavior, where he had done little more than defend himself.
Something had felt off from the beginning.
Still, Shirou had never intended to fight to the death.
In fact, the situation had worked entirely in his favor.
"I have no intention... of becoming your enemy. That Cautus carries... a familiar presence."
Patriot explained.
"Whether someone is friend or foe is not something that can be settled with words alone. Besides, your Reunion people are tearing this city apart right now."
Shirou had already been planning how many walls he might need to collapse, but Patriot's explanation made him frown.
His thoughts drifted back to everything he had witnessed outside Chernobog.
Orange armbands.
Red armbands.
He was no longer sure what any of it meant.
What exactly was this organization called Reunion trying to accomplish?
They claimed to fight for the Infected.
Yet behind the scenes, they were desecrating the corpses of the Infected.
And even if their goal truly was to fight for the Infected, indiscriminately attacking civilians was not something any legitimate organization should be doing.
Compared to them, Rhodes Island seemed far more reasonable.
Granted, there were plenty of things worth teasing them about, but most of those were harmless quirks.
Of course, it was possible that his judgment was influenced by first impressions.
But there was one thing he was certain about.
"I know your organization is divided into a lot of different factions. But if you cannot keep your own people under control... that is your responsibility."
Remembering the help Crownslayer had given him, Shirou ultimately chose not to condemn Reunion as a whole.
However, the issues before them could not simply be ignored.
If those people had been restrained from the beginning...
Perhaps things would never have reached this point.
"...You are right. However, those rioters... those traitors... will face the ending they deserve."
After hearing Shirou's words, the Wendigo looked at the dried blood staining his halberd.
All of it belonged to those who had spread chaos and violence.
By the time they learned that something had gone wrong within Reunion, they had already been deceived and outmaneuvered by people working behind the scenes.
They could have simply purged those individuals outright.
But that would never have been a lasting solution.
As long as the oppression of the Infected continued to exist, that Black Snake would always have countless ways to draw out the deepest darkness hidden within people's hearts.
The Reunion leaders had originally planned to reorganize their ranks and carefully screen their members.
However, the Black Snake had incited those Infected who harbored resentment toward Ursus and toward ordinary people, orchestrating this entire operation from the shadows.
Just as the young man before him had said, their inability to control their own people meant they deserved to bear most of the responsibility.
That was why the only thing they could do now was use their authority as members of Reunion to personally deal with these individuals.
The Black Snake's tail had already revealed itself.
All that remained was to wait for the right opportunity.
"I understand. However... there seem to be quite a few pests within your red-armband faction as well. Earlier, outside the city, I saw people wearing red armbands turning infected corpses into Originium dust."
Judging from the Wendigo's demeanor and tone, Shirou could tell that the man had not simply ignored everything that was happening.
The human heart was far too complicated.
And who could ever truly see through appearances alone?
Shirou understood that very well himself.
In the end, he decided to warn the Wendigo, telling him about what he had witnessed outside the city.
He needed to regroup with Amiya and the others soon.
If he delayed much longer, things could become dangerous.
Just looking at the dark clouds gathering overhead made alarm bells ring in the back of his mind.
The warning in his instincts was growing louder and louder.
"Corpses? Dust?... I see. So that Black Snake intends to make use of the Catastrophe?"
After hearing Shirou's report, Patriot's crimson eyes widened.
Even his tone became noticeably heavier.
He looked genuinely furious.
"...A Catastrophe"
Hearing that particular word, Shirou instinctively looked up at the dark clouds gathering above.