Chapter 35: Day 8 ⑥

The wind passed between the Assassin and me, stirring up the leaves. High up at the top of the stairs—on the gate—clouds drifted slowly, at a visible speed.

Assassin remained still, staring at me.

After confirming that Lia's Prana signature had passed through the main gate and into the compound, I glared once again at the enemy before me.

"Now, before we engage in combat. I have pondered a little about your identity."

"…?"

What was he about to say? Assassin, once again resting his katana on his shoulder, declared this. There was no sign that he intended to strike immediately.

The information I had about Assassin, which I shared with Lia, was also what Saber had told me, so this was the first time I had actually confronted him and fully registered his presence. Because of this, I still couldn't grasp the nature of the Servant before me.

Assassin looked at me, who offered no reply, and smiled faintly, as if confirming something.

"You are not Saber, are you? The Servant who just passed me... she must be the one."

"—!"

Noticing my slight hesitation, Assassin murmured "Hmm," and pondered for a moment.

"I wondered if it was appropriate to judge by appearance, but your form suggests a swordsman from the West. Therefore, I thought it would suffice to cross swords with either of you... but it seems I was a little short-sighted. The Sword Ki (Kenki) of one who has lived by the sword is too faint coming from you."

—I've been seen through.

I never imagined I would be discerned before even clashing blades. Since I've been figured out, there's no point in feigning ignorance.

"That's right. I'm not Saber. Even so, I never expected you to perceive my nature, let alone just feel my presence."

"…No, it is no special skill. It is merely something ingrained in the body, I suppose. One who cannot keenly perceive a presence would not survive those chaotic wars."

—That ability was likely not possessed by every swordsman.

If one's name was known, there would be ambushes and surprise attacks. There must have been those who, despite superior strength and skill with the sword, became corpses and vanished without a trace. This is an essential survival ability that only those who have repeatedly crossed and overcome the line between life and death possess. The opponent before me has it.

I intensified my caution toward Assassin. This man is, after all, considerably powerful.

"Hmm—it seems I have dallied too long with trivial chatter. I did not expect my opponent to be such a beautiful lady. I offer my apology if I have offended you."

With a slight curl of his lips, Assassin took a step towards me.

One step, then another. Contrary to his slow approach, the air rapidly became heavy. A murderous intent that felt suffocating, like a thread pulled taut to its limit.

There are no openings. I grit my teeth and open my eyes wide to not miss any movement from the opponent.

"My name is Assassin, Kojirou Sasaki. And you are… Well, in any case, once you are cut down, it matters not who you are—"

A flash.

It was unleashed without any setup. That first strike, which I barely caught with Saber's enhanced eyesight, was as sharp as if splitting the darkness, tracing a beautiful arc.

A blade trajectory intended to cleave my neck and torso. I met the strike, unleashed from outside my range, with my own fastest attack—!

Steel and steel scattered sparks. The sound of metal clanging was swallowed by the surrounding trees. However, it did not end there.

I can sense it. That a follow-up strike is coming. That if I lose focus for even an instant, my head will be severed. The change in the silver trajectory that rushes toward me, and its speed.

It’s not Saber's Instinct, nor did I read it from Assassin’s movements. Yet, my eyes predict the flow of Assassin's nodachi as if I had seen it once before.

I met the soft, arcing blade of Assassin with Saber's strong, rigid sword.

Several more exchanges. Thanks to my eyes and body spontaneously predicting the movements, I somehow managed to avoid fatal wounds.

—But the overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation continues. His strikes reach me, but I need to move two more steps closer just to graze him.

The difference in sword skill, the difference in range (reach). In addition, my position is also a factor in my disadvantage. Is it truly this difficult to fight when positioned downhill? This is my first fight in terrain with an elevation difference. It might be a miracle that I'm even managing to hold my own.

A myriad of sword flashes continued to be swung from outside my range. I am already Tracing Saber's sword experience—her sword skills—in sync. Thanks to my training with Lia, I should be able to move in a way that is closer to the real thing than before.

Even so, I couldn't even manage to close the distance.

The sword and katana crossed. The invisible blade and the excessively long katana. The intercepting blow was evaded, and a counterattack returned without a moment's pause.

Yet, Assassin, who is overwhelmingly superior and pushing back my advance, does not carelessly press his attack further.

Assassin is primarily fighting to prevent me from breaking through the gate.—"Of course. My role is that of the gatekeeper. I will not allow you to pass alive, nor will I allow you to return alive."

It seems there is no falsehood in those words. But this stalemate cannot continue indefinitely.

Far from catching up to Rin and Shirou, even if Lia defeats Caster, I will still be stuck fighting Assassin.

I took the continuous barrage of silver flashes with minimal movement. Small cuts were etched onto my cheek and arm.

Counting them, it must be well over dozens of exchanges. Perhaps it's already reached a hundred.

Either way, this slow attrition will drain me. My injuries will only increase.

But not yet. If I attack carelessly now, I will suffer the same fate as Shirou did at noon.

Concentrate. I don't have the luxury of losing my focus.

A line aiming diagonally from my shoulder to my heart. —No good. Swing up from below to deflect it.

A silver light aimed for my face from below without a moment's respite. —That's not it either. Quickly strike down from above in return.

A vertical line attempting to sever my arm. —…Unacceptable. Receive it horizontally with the sword.

A wide, sweeping strike from the outside, an Ittou that seems to cut space itself. The target is my neck. —This is it!

As soon as I discerned its trajectory, I quickly drew a breath, pulling out Prana.

"Fuuuh!"

With a shout, I deflected the blow outward, and like an explosion of compressed Prana in my legs, I slipped inside his attack range—

A light, tingling pain shot across my forehead.

"Eh?"

My eyes widened. The man in front of me had a smile playing on his lips. And then, I quickly realized the abnormality.

The long katana that had been deflected wide outward,

flowed in a curve,

and was suddenly rushing toward my face.

"What!"

While the sound of the previous exchange still lingered, I forcibly twisted my body sideways, faster than thought, and retreated. My head moved out of the trajectory.

"Gh!!!"

In an instant, a heat like a branding iron, followed shortly by intense pain, spread widely and vertically across my left shoulder.

A massive spray of red fluid. A scene somewhat detached from reality.

But I was immediately pulled back. A thrust, closing the distance. The target: my throat.

I knocked it away with Excalibur, gripped tightly in my right hand, but the momentum was not lost, and it plunged into my left thigh.

"Kuh... ah...!"

And immediately after, a silver light flashed in the right corner of my vision. The tip of the returning katana, reflecting the moon. The tingling pain returned. This time, it was my right neck.

I tried to use my right arm to raise my sword and block it, but failed. The katana sliced through my right shoulder.

"Ah..."

Black dyed the red clothing. With the flowing fluid, the heat and Prana in my body drained away.

A feeling of nausea and fatigue signaled the loss of vitality.

My left collarbone, and three ribs beneath it, have been severed. My left arm, its muscles cut, is immobile.

My breathing is impaired. It must be because the injury reached my lung.

The wound on my right shoulder stopped short of the bone, perhaps because I unconsciously channeled Prana, but the muscle was damaged. My right arm, of course, cannot be raised.

My left leg has no apparent bone damage and should be mobile, but my mobility is drastically reduced.

The abnormalities in my body reached my brain as if being checked by a machine.

I must retreat. Yet, my body wouldn't obey, like a marionette with cut strings.

My knees gave way with a thump, and the ground rushed up. I couldn't resist gravity. Though I desperately struggled, the strength ebbed from my body.

"Hmm. It seems the distance was insufficient. Had you not retreated, you would have been cut down by a single stroke now."

"…Guhh... uh... ah..."

I could hear Assassin's voice, but I could only see the stone steps. Even those stone steps were wet with the red fluid that backed up from my lungs.

Zash, the sound of fine gravel scraping. Assassin is approaching.

"Your manner of defending against all my attacks was commendable, but you are still lacking if your breathing can be read. That is tantamount to announcing your shift to the offensive."

Is that so. Was my breathing being read? That explains how he could respond so calmly to my sudden movement.

"Now, I believe you are unable to resist with those injuries, but it is unwise to risk dropping a life at my blade due to complacency. Shall I deliver the finishing blow?"

Jari, jari, the sound of footsteps approached. Just a few steps remained until Assassin's katana could reach my neck.

"It was rough, but a fine, earnest sword. If the opportunity ever arose, I would wish to cross swords with you again."

Assassin offered me these farewell words.

Is this where it ends?

I haven't done anything yet. I haven't protected anything, saved anyone. My promise to Rin, Shinji, Saber.

I cannot end here. I am not dead yet.

—Move!

I shifted my body and tumbled down the stairs, still collapsed.

Ga-tsun, go-tsun, my body creaked with the impact. My wounds stung, but I had no choice.

With this, I must have put some distance between myself and Assassin. Assassin seemed to have muttered "Mh," but I unfortunately couldn't see him.

I put strength into my lower body and stood up, swaying.

"That injury would be fatal, even for a Servant. It is admirable not to lose heart, but is being tenacious about life truly a virtue...?"

Let him say what he wants. No matter what he calls me, I can't end this yet.

I gripped my right hand. Excalibur is there. Fortunately, I hadn't let go of it. I gripped with my left hand as well.

"Gah, gehoh... guh."

I spat out the blood remaining in my mouth and turned to face Assassin, who had stopped.

Assassin, who had been approaching, stopped when he saw me stand up. Inadvertently, the distance was now about the same as when we were exchanging blows before. And for some reason, there was surprise visible on his face.

"—How mysterious. To restore such wounds in an instant…"

"What, did you say?"

I clenched the sword hilt until it made a sound. And then, I finally realized what Assassin was referring to.

It moves. My left arm, which should have been severed bone-deep and immobile, and my left hand, its extremity.

My right arm, whose muscles should have been cut, could be raised. The wound on my pierced left leg had also closed up somehow.

I opened my left hand in front of my chest to check, and it seemed a lot of my strength had returned.

The loss of Prana that bled out remains. Perhaps the pain wouldn't vanish, as it flared up whenever I moved.

But aside from the bloodstained and cut clothing, I had returned to my state before the injuries—before the fight.

"It seems you are not an opponent to be dealt with easily."

I don't know what happened, but for now, if the wounds are healed, that's fine. Unlike others, this is something I've been accustomed to since I was Emiya Shirou.

I took my stance. Seeing this, Assassin slowly stepped forward, closing the distance.

"Even with such regenerative ability, if your head is severed, there will be no coming back."

The elevation difference vanished. Assassin landed right beside me. There was no distance left. It was a distance that, with Saber's body, I could cover in one step.

Assassin took a stance for the first time. The katana, raised to eye level and held horizontally, reflected the moon. He pulled the blade back, turning his back to me in a sweeping motion. His narrowed eyes pierced me, their sharpness unwavering.

And the pure murderous intent that was unleashed. A tension that made my stomach churn.

Assassin came to settle the match. He is certainly coming to extinguish my breath.

And even as the killing intent bore down on me, I felt a sense of déjà vu about that stance.

"Now, are you truly faster than a swallow—"

—Guh! No good, this unpleasant premonition won't go away. Some part of my brain is desperately pleading that I will lose if I stay like this.

Even with Excalibur and Saber's swordsmanship, I cannot defend against this. Urged by my Instinct, I let go of Excalibur in my hand.

"Secret Sword—"

I visualize the trajectory, the path of the blade.

The approaching katana. It is even faster than Saber's. But that alone is not the source of the threat.

A second stroke, sweeping in to block the escape routes, encircling me.

No, that's not the second stroke. That wouldn't explain why Saber couldn't block it.

"—— Projection, Trace On."

While thinking about that, a different line of thought began.

I am searching for 'something' that can overcome this situation.

"—— Tsubame Gaeshi (Swallow Reversal)"

The katana is swung without a sound.

A beautiful curve is drawn.

—I see it. Apart from the approaching first stroke, there is another stroke coming from a different direction.

Simultaneously. Yes, sword flashes occurring simultaneously. A slash existing in multiple layers—an impossible phenomenon. That is the ultimate sword skill possessed by Kojirou Sasaki.

Two flashes rush toward me. There is no escape route, and to defend against this sword flash, I have no choice but to use two swords.

But if this is the full-powered strike of a Servant, an ordinary sword cannot even receive it. Unless it is a Noble Phantasm, I would be cut in two along with my weapon.

The search ends. If so, there is only one pair of suitable swords within me—

"—— Projection, Trigger Off."

The black sword in my right hand, Yang Sword, intercepts the assaulting blade.

The white sword in my left hand, Yin Sword, pushes back the encircling blade.

"Wha—what...?"

"—This is Kanshou and Bakuya."

Yes, only these twin married swords in my hands.