"Hey Daidara what do you think our new mission would be considering its from the prime minster? Nyau asked his fellow beasts as they travelled across the rough snowy terrain searching for their master who journeyed off without a word. It was time to head back to the capital.
"Heh I don't care as long as it gives me lots of experience points." Daidara said with a hearty laugh as he waved his axe around with great strength to make his point.
"But still it is strange that we would be recalled so fast after we just finished our campaign. I wonder what's happening at the capitol."
"What do you think Liver?"
"It's probably one of the typical power plays from those dirty bureaucrats, spreading those filthy politics and consumed by their own power." Liver responsed with venom in his voice, his fist tightening out of rage as the thought consumed him.
"Hmm? are you sure sir, it could be the revolutionary army or more specifically Night Raid." Nyau doubted that was the case, after all the prime minister was in complete control over the empire from the shadows, and wouldn't call them back for such a trivial matter when he could easily deal with it himself.
"I hope it is, they would make for excellent experience points in order for me to become stronger." Daidara said as he once again brandished his great axe, taking potshots at an invisible enemy and imagining the experience he would get for destroying Night Raid.
"That's all you care about don't you Daidara you need to pick up another hobby like mine." Nyau said with a sadistic smile on his face as he took out a skinned human face. It was still fresh as droplets of blood was dripping from the face.
"See this here is one of my favourites from my recent acquisition and definitely going into my collection." Nyau brandished the human face with pride as he shoved it in front of Daidara and River.
"If I recall correctly he was one of the leaders of the northern army."
"Argh no thanks, you have such a disgusting habit Nyau." Daidara replied with disgust at the skinned face, he may love to kill people but that was for his goal of becoming stronger not because he enjoyed being sadistic.
"Enough talk its time to find our master." River cut the conversation short, they could talk later currently their most important directive was to find their master.
"Yes sir." The two complied in complete unison before the trio sprinted across the snowy landscape.
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Leaving imprints in the hardened snow I barrelled forwards beyond the speeds of sound with my reinforced body, paying no mind to the harsh winds and snow whipping against my bare skin. My eyes darting from side to side scanning the surroundings for an opportunity.
"..." I found it, a path that leads directly to her but... In an instant I kicked to the left while positioning Kanshou behind my back and Bakuya to my left as spears of ice materialised out of thin air and the ground to skewer me.
"Impressive not only did you avoid my little tricks but you saw through the real trap." The woman clapped her hands as if to praise me but to me that itself was a warning.
"..." I kicked off the ground causing me to temporary stay afloat within the air, barely dodging another giant icicle that sprouted from beneath me. But the danger wasn't over yet I reinforced the married blades with what little prana I had left before slicing through the ice as easily as butter.
"HAHAHA." The woman started laughing with a twisted expression on her face, one of sexual desire combined with one that reeked of killing intent.
"To think after all this disappointment I experienced in this land, I will finally encounter a person that could give me a proper fight but also will become my significant other."
"..." Kicking off from the ice spire, I landed onto the ground before continuing onwards. Trusting in my minds eye and using the experiences from my recent battle against Angelica I weaved through the hail storm of ice and traps laid down by my enemy with ease.
"That's why out of respect to you, I will face you with my full strength and then you will become mine." The woman positioned her rapier in front of her and the extremely cold temperature lowered even further as large amounts of ice was forming around her to form a vortex of dense ice.
"..." This wasn't good I could tell she was getting serious, she was strong before but it was clear by now that she specialised in close range combat and with the sheer amount of energy she was outputting I wouldn't stand a chance in my current status.
Still this was an opportunity, one that I cannot pass up despite the danger.
"... Trace on." In my minds eye I attempted to trace EMIYA's skill with the twin blades. An image of a grown muscular man within his early thirties appeared wielding twin blades of black and white. The man had white hair, tanned skin and was garbed in his usual attire the red plain mystic code.
Stolen novel; please report.
He was doing battle with another heroic spirit, a giant hulking man likened to a black giant or a monster whom imparts fear with a single glance. Yet despite being outmatched in every way be it strength, speed, durability EMIYA moved onwards with no fear.
Projecting the first pair of blades he throws them at the enemy with the purpose of being deflected, while he projects another pair for close range combat in an instant.
Taking advantage of the enemy's lapse of defence from guarding against the first pair, he slashes with the second pair and the thrown pair returns and hits the enemy from behind at the same moment causing lethal damage to the front and back.
Finally, the third pair is projected and modified into its overedge state becoming longs swords that appeared as wings, and he performs the final strike with them ending his opponent's life.
This was the triple-linked crane wings an 'exquisite technique' created by EMIYA, the culmination of his experience with the swords and the "true meaning behind Kanshou and Bakuya."
An fatal attack that relies on the married swords attraction with one another, consecutive projections, and keeping the basic technique, symbolised by the chanted poem. The user projects three sets of Kanshou and Bakuya, executing an unavoidable combination through throwing and slashing maneuvers. Each blade is lethal and the multiple attacks are meant to prohibit escape or defence. The only ways to defeat it are with an omni-directional defence, or by ignoring the damage to make a suicidal assault on the user.
If I wanted to defeat her in my current state this was the only method left remaining open for me, but this was as far as I could go. I could see the history of the weapons I projected but I could never hope to fully emulate it for I wasn't EMIYA the sword I was Shirou the human.
"I am the darkness..." But when did that ever stopped me, I have always risked my life every time I used magecraft let alone now. My decision's already been made, the time for the villain is nigh.
"That shrouds all!" There was no going back, all of my remaining prana was poured within the spell as I invoked a forbidden magecraft, one that has been said to be the closest to true magic a reality marble.
At that very instant, the moment the words left my mouth, the world crumpled apart.
I'm being enveloped by a rushing wind. A fierce wind that doesn't allow for the living, nor for the dead. Therefore it's not a wind rather It's steel, steel that belonged to a certain orphan who kept striking diamond dust all alone on a hill of swords.
"... So I'm here again." This was where my tracing originated from and without this winds of steel I wouldn't be able to use EMIYA's abilities, for I was never a sword to begin with I was darkness.
"Trace on sword barrel." In an instant the winds of steel disappeared and in its place was multiple pairs of Kanshou and Bakuya the married twin swords.
"Trigger set." With a single thought the married blades responded in an instant, disappearing in a flash of light they had loaded themselves onto me. With this I could bring them out in an instant with a single command as if I was the heroic spirit EMIYA, but the price I paid was far more that of EMIYA's.
"..." This all happened in a split second but nearly all of my remaining prana was drained leaving behind only enough for one last reinforcement.
"Here I come!" The woman charged at me with her rapier closing the gap between us to a few steps, while the swirling vortex of dense ice followed her turning into something but I paid it no heed. This battle would end right now.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm" I threw the twin blades at the woman's neck from both sides. The two blades drawing an arc as they intersected with one another right onto the enemy. Trapped between steel penetrating noble phantasms she had no way out but death.
"Ngh" The woman deflected them with her rapier in an heartbeat, causing them to spin out of control within the air behind her. Taking advantage of this opportunity the vortex of ice behind her rained down upon me with a barrage of icicles.
"Trace open." I summoned another pair of Kanshou and Bakuya in a split second. Positioning the married blades in front of me I blocked the brunt of the hail of death but a couple of icicles made it past my defences piercing my body and clipping my sides.
"Agh." For a moment my reaction dulled by a split second as my past wounds reopened and openly wept leaving me open to an attack.
"An opening!" The woman released a lighting fast fatal thrust aiming for my heart but...
"Our strength rips the mountains" The twin swords that spun out earlier came back with full force.
"What...!?" She quickly transformed the vortex of ice into a dense barrier blocking the surprise attack from behind.
"Our swords split the water" I didn't miss this opportunity, taking advantage of the slight opening from diverting her attention I slashed with the married blades.
"Ice entrapment!" Freezing my feet for a split second she managed to barely avoid a deep cut from Kanshou and with the cost of her rapier she deflected Bakuya.
"...!" I kicked backwards in an instant with my reinforced body, destroying the icy bindings in time to avoid an massive icicle spire rising from the ground.
She was a monster, to not only be able to survive this onslaught of blades, the pinnacle of EMIYA's technique but counter attack at the same time. However it is by conquering said beings that makes one worthy of the name heroic spirit.
"Our names reach the imperial villa" Using the magnetic attraction of the blades stuck in the icy walls I threw the second pair blindly while projecting the final pair needed for the technique final completion.
"Tch Ice Armour." She quickly created a protective layer of dense ice which surrounded her body. The icy defence temporarily holding back the advance of the steel penetrating noble phantasms as they sought each other out.
"Trace on." Time slowed to a crawl as I projected and reinforced the final pair turning them into long swords that appeared as wings. We take an instant to access each other's condition.
The enemy was defenceless and wide open for my final strike, her rapier having been flung across the battlefield while the majority of her powers was being used to stop the two pairs from meeting together.
Charging forward with speeds beyond sound, I dodged her last ditch effort to skewer me by mere millimetres as I have already predicted this move with my minds eye before slashing her with the reinforced blades.
"In the end father I too was weak." The woman said something in her last moments but I couldn't hear it.
"The two of us cannot ARGHH." I collapsed midswing. It finally happened, after all the battles I've been through it was a miracle that my body and magical circuits still worked but in the end it finally broke apart from the stress and overuse.
"Miyu... I'm." I saw a bright light as I crashed down onto the icy terrain, but before long I couldn't see that light anymore. The only thing I could see was the never ending darkness.