"GRAAAAAA!"
The beautiful woman, the very image of the celestial maiden of Hindu myths, snarled and roared, swinging her spear with a skill that should not be possible for someone of her nature.
However, her opponent read her every move, dodging and ducking beneath them, knowing that if even a single one of those blows struck true, he would sustain devastating damage due to the extreme gap between their stats.
Yet, with every dodged move, the woman's rage only grew, fueled by both her irritation, her very nature, and the darkness lurking within her.
She pulled back a pace before taking another stance, suddenly switching her style mid-battle to throw off her opponent's flow.
But once again, he perfectly read her move through his magecraft and barely dodged another thrust that would have skewered him straight through his heart.
Vritra, the best of the Asura, the Dragon that once stopped the flow of water across the world, finally stopped moving, as her hand turned pale due to how tightly she gripped Vajra, her spear, in frustration and anger.
"Are you only going to keep dodging? Alaya's Dog? Where is that snark of yours? Why aren't you running your mouth off as you always do? Did the Counter Force and Arjuna finally strip you of that as well and fully turn you into a hollow machine? a mere imitation of humanity?"
Shirou Emiya, the third-rate magus, sighed at those words, yet did not let down his guard as he still kept Kanshou and Bakuya ready for another clash after projecting them for who knows how many times during their fight.
"Vritra. Like I tried to say before, I am not Counter Guardian EMIYA. I am Shirou Emiya. The one you are angry at, the one who was forced to betray you back then, was my counterpart in the Throne of Heroes-"
Vritra lunged suddenly while Shirou was still talking, trying to take advantage of his distraction. However, since Shirou had predicted this thanks to how well he knew the woman, he was ready for it.
And yet, no matter how prepared he was, the difference between his Agility rank of C and her rank of A was too much to bridge with skill alone.
Gale winds erupted as the Vajra spear's tip landed square on his shoulder, shredding his torso to pieces through the inherent might of the Divine Construct that, while tainted and weaker than the original, was still in the A+ rank.
At least, that is how things should have gone.
Much to Vritra's surprise, instead of killing the man she hated so much then and there, all Vajra managed to do was tear through the holy shroud and land a blow that managed to pierce his skin before stopping dead.
She felt it. A resistance as if she were trying to pierce through a wall of steel.
Trusting her instincts and knowing how resourceful EMIYA was through personal experience, she activated her draconic eyes to peer into the truth of what was happening.
What she saw, however, sent chills down her spine. A first for her since she never felt this level of revulsion and concern even when facing the King of the Hindu Gods himself.
Swords. Dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions of them. Each one of them, the size of a single cell, acted as a collective organism, creating a literal armor of swords just beneath his skin, like the scales of a dragon.
And that was not the end of it.
A form of unknown yet gentle energy of The Everdistand Utopia surged through Shirou's body, enveloping him in a brief and subtle golden glow before fading, revealing that the surface wound had been completely healed.
To be fair, it was nothing much in the grand scheme of things. At most, this healing effect was equivalent to a low-ranked healing magecraft that any half-competent magus should be able to cast. Nothing compared to the true power of the artifact that Shirou used, which was unfortunately not available to him since he was not the real owner of it.
But this healing effect was enough since it was only a surface wound he suffered, thanks to his reality marble.
"Such an ugly trick! As expected of a damned machine that backstabs people without hesitation!!"
For a split second, Shirou's face became ugly at that accusation as his reality marble trembled within his soul, as if that insult had offended his very inner world.
Yet, he did not get to retaliate properly as Vritra started to overwhelm him despite his superior sworsmanship due to the sheer difference in their stats.
With each swing of Vajra, either Kanshou would break, or Bakuya would shatter, forcing him to constantly project them near instantly to fend off a follow-up attack.
Then, she would suddenly switch up her stance, throwing him off for a split second before he would recover and cope with her new fighting style.
Every time her Vajra clashed with the married swords, lightning flashed across the golden spear's body, hoping to electrocute the boy.
Yet Shirou would once again show his superior skills, earned through the memories of his various counterparts, most of whom were trained by the King of Knights herself, while the others earned their skills on the edge of life and death.
Then, Shirou went one step further by pulling on the experience of the countless peerless swordsmen and women from the weapons in his reality marble.
In essence, this Shirou Emiya is, at this very moment, the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
And yet, it was not enough in the face of the reckless and unfathomably strong swings of Vritra's spear.
Truthfully, if it were not for his dagger that siphoned energy from the Dimensional Gap and converted it into magical energy, injecting it directly into his magic circuits, he might have long since run out of energy and ended up dead under her relentless assault.
As Vritra overswung once again, leaving her wide open, Shirou took advantage and closed the gap, driving Kanshou straight into her flank. However, instead of tearing open her abdomen, all he managed to do was leave a barely noticeable white line on her dress, just as he expected.
Vritra, feeling the blow, once again jumped back and created distance between herself and Shirou, exactly as he intended when he made that inconsequential attack.
With the precious handful of seconds bought with that attack, his mind raced.
'That A rank Magic Resistance combined with her draconic nature is going to be the death of me. But I can't project an anti-dragon Noble Phantasm either. The moment she senses the emergence of such a weapon, she will unleash her own Noble Phantasm, and there is no chance of me winning if she unleashes Asurashreshta unless I unleash Unlimited Blade Works, which will take me a few seconds to deploy, enough time for her to unleash her full power and drown me in an army of darkness.'
'Such a troublesome situation. No wonder EMIYA had to stab her in the back with several copies of anti-dragon and anti-demon when she least expected it to kill her under Arjuna's orders.'
"Are you done contemplating how futile your resistance is? EMIYA? Because let me tell you, there is no way I am falling for the same trick as last time. This time, there is no Ritsuka to use as bait and stab in the back like last time."
At those words, the image of the girl with red hair and light orange eyes flashed through Shirou's mind as he felt a wince at the memory that Vritra was talking about.
He still remembered that dream as if it were yesterday due to how traumatizing it was. That dream also served as fuel for his determination so that he would never end up becoming that broken man who shared his name and face.
Vritra dashed forward once again, aiming Vajra straight at Shirou's chest with a telegraphed attack.
However, Shirou felt chills go down his spine as he felt the absurd levels of mana concentrated at the tip of the weapon.
If the blow landed, even with the protection of his Reality Marble and the protection of Avalon's projection within his body, he would explode into chunks of meat on the spot.
Worse yet, Vritra was taking full advantage of her agility and moving at full speed, making it look like she teleported from her place and appeared right in front of him.
Desperate to avoid the blow, Shirou ejected Avalon's copy from his body and rolled back, once again avoiding the blow by a hair's breadth as Avalon managed to deflect the blow before fading back into his body.
Vritra sneered and continued swinging her spear like a madwoman.
"This time, there is no God Arjuna looming over us in his Vimana, distracting me and keeping me from sensing your malice. There is none of your fellow Lokapala to take away my attention from your treachery. There is no Mahapralaya which turns our every action into a race against time."
"This time, there is no last master of humanity to use as bait by deliberately placing her in danger through the holy beasts. This time, there is nothing to hide behind, Dog of Alaya!"
Her grin turned menacing as mana surged around her, alarming Shirou as he understood exactly what she was up to.
"There is just you and me. Face to face!"
"I am the bone of my sword."
"Awaken, the weapon of my enemy, my nemesis!"
"Vajra!!"
"Rho Aias!!"
The spear transformed into a streak of light and struck true with the speed of a ballistic missile and the force of a mini nuke, a combination strong enough to reduce a town to cinders.
Yet, it failed to reach the boy as The Seven Rings the Cover the Burning Heavens manifested in its way, its petals manifesting in a mesmerising show of beauty and grace that would make anyone jealous.
The shield of Ajax the Great that blocked the unblockable. A conceptual weapon that is said to be the absolute defence against all thrown weapons.
However, despite its defensive capabilities, it lost three of its seven petals to the Divine Construct's unleashed full might, showing how powerful it was.
As Shirou panted in pain from having a part of his arm shredded through the rebound, which was being healed by Avalon's copy within him along with his reality marble, he dismissed the shield and stared at the manic Vritra, who grinned at his injured state.
With a wave of her hand, Vajra flew back into her hand as she stood leisurely in place. Her soft voice echoed through the silent, devastated battlefield that used to be a park.
"How does it feel? EMIYA? To face my might head-on instead of assassinating me like a coward? How does it feel to know that even with the power of the Counter Force and without the power of Vishvakarma, you can never equal me in a straight fight? How does it feel to know that your machine-like precision and the ability to mimic the power of others that you are so proud of has failed you in the end?"
To her taunts, Shirou had no answer. Instead, he asked a question of his own, as his dagger worked on filling his magic circuits with power, preparing for what he was about to do next.
"Tell me, Vritra. Did you see EMIYA smile when he killed you?"
"...Huh?"
The grin on her face disappeared.
"Did he gloat? Did he laugh as he sniped you from a distance with several Broken Phantasms?"
"Or, was his face one of despair and resignation?"
Now, she held a neutral look that barely hid the turmoil in her eyes.
Shirou stepped forward, his step echoing throughout the battlefield like a gong going off inside a silent room.
On instinct, Vritra stepped back, yet caught herself while rage boiled within her.
"Do you think he enjoyed it?"
Shirou's mind flashed back to the memories that still shone within his mind as clear as day.
The memories of Vritra indulging in EMIYA's cooking in the kitchens of Chaldea.
The memories of training that they shared.
The memories of their fierce fights across the Singularities, all in the name of protecting their master.
This was the EMIYA that Vritra called her comrade. This was the servant Archer that Ritsuka trusted with all her heart.
This was the servant who was killed in the final battle at the Grand Temple of Time.
Then, another set of memories emerged. This one, short and to the point.
This EMIYA knew none of the things his other incarnation went through with Chaldea, since God Arjuna deemed those memories useless.
This one, this Counter Guardian, was a machine through and through.
Somehow, someway, he was summoned by God Arjuna to the Indian Lostbelt and then merged with Vishvakarma, the patron god of all craftsmen and blacksmiths in the Indian Pantheon. His target? To eliminate all significant individuals that could be a threat to God Arjuna's vision of the perfect world.
And these parameters, unfortunately, included his former comrades, those he no longer remembered thanks to Arjuna's actions under the guidance of that monstrous creature called Limbo.
This is the version of EMIYA that Vritra hates. This is the version that she calls a traitor.
This is the version that she sees in every incarnation of Shirou Emiya.
"Tell me, Vritra, you knew him better than anyone due to your nature. So, do you think the man that made your meals, who fought by your side, who was willing to sacrifice himself for all your sakes at Solomon's temple, did what he did willingly?"
"...It does not matter. Today, you must die at my hands. Only then will I know peace."
Shirou closed his eyes and sighed.
'I see. Words won't reach you anymore then? So be it.'
"I am the bone of my sword."
Vritra's eyes widened, realizing exactly what Shirou was doing thanks to her experience with EMIYA.
Abandoning Vajra, she raised her arm to the sky as mana surged.
"I am Vritra."
"I cover the heavens and the earth-GAH!"
Chains erupted from the ground, piercing through her flesh and disrupting her mana, and stopping her from activating her Noble Phantasm for a single second.
Unfortunately, the Chains of Heaven cannot truly supress her as she has no divinity within her.
"My body is Steel and my blood is Fire."
With anger overflowing within her heart, she swung her spear, shattering the chains using her own Divine Contruct to counter its suppressing nature and once again pulsed her mana, continuing her own aria, knowing that she would have to go all out against what was about to come.
"Assemble! My Asura! The demonic army of my flesh-GRRAAA!"
Once again, Enkidu manifested and pierced through her defenses due to its very nature, yet was unable to chain her down due to her lack of divinity.
Once again, Shirou Emiya bought himself a precious few seconds.
"I will create a thousand blades."
"Never accepting Defeat. Never stopping at Victory."
Those words gave Vritra pause, for they were different from the aria of that accursed world of smog and gears she remembers.
Yet, her mind was too far drowned in her amplified rage to truly realize the significance of this change.
Instead, she once again shattered the chains around her with Vajra and started chanting again with renewed urgency.
"Separation is the law! May all creation be concealed!"
"Forging on with a hill of swords. This is my true path."
Darkness swelled around Vritra as her aria reached its end, just like Shirou radiated unfathomable levels of magical energy, drawing directly from the dagger's reserves.
As one, Vritra released her Noble Phantasm while Shirou unleashed his Reality Marble.
"Asurasreshtha!!"
"Unlimited Blade Works!"
One side of the battlefield was briefly bathed in peerless darkness from which countless Asura surged forth, intent on shredding their mistress's enemies.
Yet, everything disappeared in a ring of fire that overwrote reality itself.
In that moment, the darkness clouding Vritra's eyes and fueling her rage cowered.
For she saw a beautiful yet deadly world beyond anything she could have imagined.
Finally, she realized the truth.
This was not Counter Guardina EMIYA. Neither was he the Heroic Spirit EMIYA she knew in Chaldea.
This was someone else entirely.
With a sigh, she smiled as her true personality finally came to the surface. Her nature, which revelled in watching humanity suffer through the obstacles she placed in their path, and glow with genuine pride when humanity overcame these obstacles through their efforts and evolved to become better than before.
'What a shame. To be manipulated like this by that taint. I guess I understand what EMIYA must have felt back then.'
Her thoughts remained within her mind as her perpetual hatred for Counter Guardian EMIYA diminished significantly, now that she realized what it felt like to no longer be able to recognize your actions due to outside influence.
Yet, those thoughts will no longer reach anyone as anti-dragon and anti-demonic Broken Phantasms bombarded her location, killing her instantly through the sheer quantity and quality of the weapons used.
Shirou Emiya was many things, but careless he was not. So there was no way he would let up any time soon, especially when facing such a dangerous enemy.
After a continuous bombardment that lasted fifteen minutes, his dagger finally ran out of stockpiled magical energy, putting the strain of the reality marble back on his own reserves, forcing him to dismiss the inner world.
Watching the Lancer Class Card floating gently in the air where Vritra was, he could not help but sigh in regret and relief.
Taking it gently into his hand, he palmed it in nostalgia before putting it away and undoing his Install as the mirror world started to collapse around him.
'I guess, that's Mission Complete for now?'
Watching the mirror world crumble around him, he sighed one last time and used the dagger to go back to the real world.
One down, five more to go.
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Asurasreshtha (Vritra Noble Phantasm): (Click for image)
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Author Notes:
Did you really think I would reveal what Shirou's UBW looks like this early in the story? No way! That reveal is slated for later on.
Read 5 chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/Ruijard1