Crashes, slashes, volleys of strikes—attacks from the white bear came in an endless avalanche, suffocating Heroic Spirit Emiya beneath the onslaught.
Emiya's Projection Magic was extremely powerful, able to reproduce Noble Phantasms no inferior to the originals, including defensive ones.
Yet, before the EX-rank white bear, his defenses were meaningless. He could only be relentlessly hunted down, while the entire underground chamber of the Matou house was on the verge of being torn apart.
Matou Shinji shrank back into a corner like an ordinary man facing an earthquake, utterly powerless. His pupils trembled as he watched the cataclysmic offensive unfold before his eyes.
Each strike of the white bear's paw was like a giant excavator swinging its massive arm, smashing huge holes into the walls, rubble flying everywhere, several chunks even striking his body.
Don't be fooled—though Shinji dared to use his very life force as the price for entering the Holy Grail War, his courage was actually very small.
Right now, not a shred of fighting intent remained in his mind. He only prayed Zuke and Sitonai wouldn't notice him, that once they finished off Emiya, they would simply leave—without turning back to finish him off as well.
"Damn it… What on earth has Illya become, for her Noble Phantasm to be… a white bear…?"
Reeling from the bear's blows, Emiya struggled to project "Rho Aias, the Seven Rings of the Fiery Heaven" to block another strike, finally buying himself a moment to breathe.
He had wanted to speak to Sitonai, even reveal his identity as "Emiya Shirou"… but on second thought, it was pointless. In this world, there was no such person as Emiya Shirou.
Indeed, during his investigations earlier, he had looked into the "Emiya Shirou" of this world—only to discover the residence that should have belonged to the Emiya family was abandoned.
It seemed that from the very beginning, no one had ever lived there. Kiritsugu Emiya, Shirou Emiya—none of them had ever existed in this world.
So even if he spoke the name "Emiya Shirou," Sitonai would not recognize it. It would only add needless sorrow to himself.
"If this keeps up, I'll be beaten to death by this bear…"
Watching the white bear charge at him again, Emiya abandoned all thoughts of speaking. He understood—the other side meant to break him completely.
In that case, Emiya would no longer hold back. He had to unleash his greatest move, settle this in one strike, or at least escape together with Matou Shinji.
His strongest move was, of course, his Reality Marble—Unlimited Blade Works:
"I am the bone of my sword…"
Unlimited Blade Works was accompanied by a profound incantation—a summation of Emiya's severed bonds, of a life devoted solely to the pursuit of justice.
But as soon as he uttered the first line, he felt something brush across his face. To his horror, his mouth was sealed shut!
He couldn't see himself in a mirror, nor had a double to check, but his lips had been forced into the two sides of a zipper—his mouth forcibly sealed by Zuke's ability, "BlackBird Requeim: Sticky Fingers."
Though he didn't know how, Emiya instinctively realized it was Zuke's handiwork, and anger flashed across his face.
True, when he invoked Unlimited Blade Works he habitually recited the incantation—but in truth, it wasn't strictly necessary.
In other works, Emiya had been shown activating Unlimited Blade Works without reciting the chant. So even with his words interrupted, he still intended to trigger his Reality Marble.
Yet before it could manifest, a colossal white bear paw loomed before him.
Boom!!!
Zuke's "Sticky Fingers" had disrupted his chant, throwing Emiya's activation rhythm into chaos. Before Unlimited Blade Works could deploy, the bear's paw struck him squarely.
Emiya's body flew like a ragdoll, smashing into a heap of rubble in the corner of the chamber. Blood seeped out between the stones.
"Cough—!"
Struck unguarded by an EX-rank Noble Phantasm, even if it wasn't a beam-type weapon, the impact was brutal for a Heroic Spirit not specialized in physical durability.
Emiya spat blood, struggling to rise from the rubble—only to see Sitonai already before him.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something—but Sitonai gave him no chance. She raised her hand, and a stream of icy air burst forth.
In an instant, Emiya's body was encased in solid ice, frozen into an immobile statue.
In this state, even his thoughts slowed to a crawl. The invocation of Unlimited Blade Works was out of the question.
Having frozen him solid, Sitonai didn't even spare him a glance. She turned, beaming proudly at Zuke, like a daughter showing her father her achievements.
"Well done."
Zuke smiled, praising her. Emiya's strength was not insignificant—his Unlimited Blade Works could even trouble Gilgamesh if he were caught off guard.
But since Zuke had interrupted his attempt to deploy Unlimited Blade Works, under the white bear's assault he had been left almost completely helpless.
"Huff… huff…"
Hearing Zuke's praise, Sitonai's face lit up with a small smile. It seemed that after learning she would get to meet Irisviel alongside Zuke, her mindset had begun to shift.
The manic edge from before was fading, replaced again by the air of a sheltered, innocent girl.
Although Emiya was frozen, he was still a Heroic Spirit. Zuke could sense his energy within the ice, steady and intact. He would not die just from being sealed.
Think of it as being… frozen fresh.
"Black Bird Requiem" manifested behind Zuke, lifting the ice-sculpted Emiya and carrying him as Zuke turned to leave the Matou underground chamber.
"Oh, right."
As he reached the doorway—now reduced almost to ruins—Zuke suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned his head toward a pile of debris in the corner.
"Almost forgot about you."
In that corner, Matou Shinji—who had thought Zuke and Sitonai were about to leave, his breath of relief not yet released—was once more plunged into despair by those words.
To be continued…