99 – Subjugating the Servant Yan Qing
"Wait! Wait!" The Shinjuku Assassin hadn't yet recovered his senses when he was startled by a sudden attack. Just before the blade reached him, he fell backward, doing a lazy donkey roll to barely evade the strike—yet two red lines were still cut across his face.
Using the Phantom Spirit Doppelgänger ability to transform into Artoria, the Assassin in a sense became something like her true double.
He possessed her memories, preferences, and even imitated her behavior and way of thinking.
So, when he suddenly saw Artoria just now, he truly thought another "himself" had appeared before him, dressed in an evening gown.
"No need for questions! Mash, lock onto the target!" Shirou commanded loudly.
"Understood! Target—Shinjuku Assassin—has been marked! Please work together to take him down!" Mash locked onto the target's position, preventing him from escaping.
The battle formally began.
The Shinjuku Assassin could not imagine that the other side would be so bold as to break straight into his headquarters.
The black-haired man stood up, adjusted his stance, and looked at the two with a face still full of astonishment. "What the heck? How could something like this happen…? Even a moth flying into the flame at least knows some limits!"
"Boss, what should we do now?" his underling, Hornet, asked.
"Send the financier back, then gather the Hornets. Bring in the Phantom Spirit soldiers Shakespeare created as well. They're all Servants—use our maximum firepower of magic bullets to wipe them out!"
In the dance hall, the men and women who had been dancing transformed into a huge skeletal figure holding its hands together. They were called "Romeo and Juliet," and anyone they touched melted instantly, like a candle.
Jeanne raised her flag high, releasing flames, and shouted: "As expected, Shakespeare should be burned to a crisp literary giant! This kind of pathetic love that just brings trouble to others is totally unnecessary! Let me burn it all away! All the best love stories are in France!!!"
"Jeanne, I'll support you!" Gudako said.
"Mm, Chaldea little sister—don't leave my side!" Jeanne erupted in blazing flames, engulfing the enemy.
Meanwhile, Shirou and Artoria directly targeted the Shinjuku Assassin, slashing toward him. Now that he'd been locked onto by Chaldea, he could no longer rely on shapeshifting to blend in with the Hornets and escape.
"Ahh, looks like I can't get away," the black-haired man said with a helpless shake of the head, smiling. "Although I knew a day like this would come, I didn't think it'd be so soon! When you commit enough outrageous evil deeds, someone will eventually come knocking to deliver justice—so I've got nothing to say! Since you've come to me, then let's fight! I am one of the 108 heroes of Liangshan, the Heavenly Clever Star, alias: the Prodigal Yan Qing! I've come to test your skill—!"
The moment the words fell, Yan Qing closed the distance to Shirou. Wearing blue-and-gold steel gauntlets on both hands, he instantly unleashed a flurry of punches.
Shirou crossed his black-and-white twin swords to block. When the heavy blows landed against the blades, he could feel the sound of the internal structure fracturing under each impact.
Although he was an Assassin, the man's fists were extremely powerful. Even more dangerous—when his explosive speed was combined with lethal fist techniques—if Shirou failed to block even once, it could mean instant death.
The boy held his breath, blocking each strike without the slightest relaxation, eyes wide, adapting to the speed of the man's fists, waiting for a chance to counterattack.
But the black-haired man wouldn't give his opponent much time to adapt. Chinese martial arts emphasize defeating the enemy in an instant—real combat is often decided within just a few exchanges.
He was one of the 108 Stars of Destiny, symbolizing flexibility, cleverness, and keen perception—the Heavenly Clever Star.
Fist Technique EX: Proof of having founded his own martial arts school, this was "Yan Qing Fist," also called "Lost Track Fist," one of the many martial arts styles of China.
In later generations, Huo Yuanjia was known to master this style.
Legend claims it was created by Yan Qing of the Song Dynasty, but historical records contain no mention of such a person—likely a name borrowed and forcibly attached by later storytellers. However, through people's belief, this legend has been manifested in the Heroic Spirit before them.
Yan Qing's master, Lu Junyi, studied under Zhou Tong of Shaanxi, a famous martial arts grandmaster of the Song Dynasty who also taught heroes like Yue Fei, Lin Chong, and Wu Song. Yan Qing, having followed Lu Junyi since childhood, benefited greatly and learned profound martial skills.
The next moment, the man's left hand blurred into an afterimage, slipping through the gap between the twin blades at a tricky angle, his fingers stabbing straight toward the boy's eyes.
"So fast!" The sudden burst of speed made Shirou hurriedly twist his body aside.
"Been waiting for this moment!" Yan Qing's right hand had already been poised, fingers curled into a tiger claw. In an instant, he exploded forward with lightning speed, grabbing for the boy's throat. That powerful grip—once clamped around his neck—could snap it instantly.
This time, Shirou could no longer dodge.
"Not happening!" At that instant, a black holy sword swung in a heavy slash toward the man's waist. Just as his hand clamped onto Shirou's throat, he would also be cut in half.
The black-haired man was forced to abandon the attack. Rather than evade, he met the blow head-on, using his steel gauntlet to deflect the force of the slash, then turned and kicked toward the golden-haired girl's crotch.
Artoria immediately leapt back, blocking with the sword's flat. But the kick was like a long whip—at the moment of contact, it erupted with tremendous force.
Even prepared, Artoria was still lifted off her feet by that sudden upward burst of power, sent flying several meters away.
Skilled in both fist and footwork, his whole body was a weapon. Combined with his agility, his explosive speed surpassed both the boy and the girl, letting him fend off their combined assault with remarkable skill.
As the golden-haired girl retreated to open distance, the black-haired man made his decision—displaying the ruthless decisiveness of a battlefield veteran—launching a killing blow at the boy.
"Ha! — [Ambush from Ten Sides: Form Without Shadow]!!" The man's long black hair flew upward, his blue-gold eyes flashing with the aura of a beast descending from the mountain. His fists glowed golden as he stepped lightly, charging straight for Shirou.
In an instant, he split into several afterimages, followed by a storm of blows. Yan Qing's burst of speed at this moment was so fast that even Artoria couldn't intervene right away.
"Rho Aias!" Shirou raised his left hand, summoning a shield of seven pink petal-like barriers to block Yan Qing's fierce assault.
The black-haired man smirked, moving with mysterious footwork, turning into an afterimage—trying to bypass the great shield to strike Shirou's back.
"Shirou, hold him off! He can't keep this state up for long!" At that moment, a flash of black sword light passed—Artoria stepped forward, forcing Yan Qing back.
"Add, shield!" Shirou returned to battle stance, shouting toward the case in his right hand.
"Got it!" The Mystic Code unfolded, transforming from a scythe into a large shield. Shirou raised it in his right hand, pressing his left hand against its inner side, continuing to channel magical energy into the cherry blossom shield.
The two shields together formed an impenetrable wall of defense.