Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Under normal circumstances, even if the mark is activated, it is impossible to break through Esdeath's time-space freeze.

It's just raising body temperature; how could it easily withstand the cold that freezes time and space?

Emiya Shirou sacrificed his own origins and the damage to his soul to unleash the power of the Mark like the sun, which allowed him to move within the frozen time.

At its core, the damage to the soul is something Avalon cannot heal. To be precise, it's because Shirou Emiya is not Avalon's true master, so he cannot heal his own injuries through it.

After Shirou Emiya rested on that island, the projection did not produce any additional pain.

Emiya thought his hidden injury had healed, but he never imagined that the injury had penetrated to the root of his problem.

So much so that when he projects a new weapon after analysis, he experiences extremely terrifying pain that affects his judgment.

However, it seems that this will not have any impact on the projection weapons that Emiya has already mastered.

"fine--!"

Emiya gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, the agony that seemed to emanate from his very soul—"The entire project is complete!"

A spurt of blood gushed from Shirou Emiya's mouth, and a sword identical to the one in Siegfried's hand appeared in Shirou Emiya's hand as well.

"This is—a Noble Phantasm!"

Siegfried could sense that the sword in Shirou Emiya's hand could unleash his Noble Phantasm. Although its power might have been greatly reduced, it was still enough to shock Siegfried immensely.

This is not something that just any magician can do. The reason magicians are called magicians is because what they can do, modern technology can also do.

However, projecting a Noble Phantasm is something that a so-called magician could never do.

Perhaps, his magic is even more astonishing than Shirou Emiya's Mystic Code.

"Master of the King of Knights, are you alright?!"

Siegfried quickly helped up Shirou Emiya, who was about to collapse, his eyes filled with worry.

Being able to project a Noble Phantasm must come at a considerable price.

"It's nothing, just a slight headache."

Emiya plunged his sword into the ground and stood up with great difficulty.

He had considered that besides the excruciating pain, there might be even more serious side effects, but he hadn't expected that simply analyzing the Noble Phantasm and projecting it would leave his body feeling completely drained and incredibly weak.

All the magic circuits were howling in despair.

"call--!"

Emiya Shirou let out a long breath and began to digest the skills he possessed. Only what belongs to you is the best.

Rather than simply learning how to use projection weapons, Emiya prefers to master them so that he can use them even when not using projection weapons.

Because such projection weapons will inevitably injure people.

Emiya doesn't want innocent people to be harmed by him; he prefers to use his reverse blade to knock down enemies rather than kill them.

After thanking Siegfried, Emiya went to find Archer and began training.

Night quietly descended.

In the town opposite the Black side, a courtyard floated up from the ground, and a huge island even blocked the moonlight, leaving it pitch black underneath.

Countless skeletons with dragon-tooth-like bodies emerged from the ground and headed towards the castle of the Yggdmirena race.

"Are you ready?"

The priest addressed Achilles and Karna, who were standing at the edge of the courtyard, and asked them a question.

"I will definitely seek revenge against the Black Fang for my sister's death!!!"

Achilles' eyes blazed with fury, and his body erupted with unparalleled green magic. He transformed into a streak of light and vanished from the courtyard.

The Holy Grail War, Night Three, begins!!!

Chapter 156 Kotomine Shiro

"Crack..."

As night fell, Shirou Emiya, looking slightly tired, opened the door to his room and went inside.

Because the Holy Grail War is most active at night, Shirou Emiya did not expend all his energy during the day. He only needed to rest for a short while to recover all his strength.

But as soon as he entered the room, Shirou Emiya sensed an extremely abnormal atmosphere.

Rather, it wasn't that Emiya directly sensed something unusual, but rather that the current state of the room was so unsettling that it would inevitably inspire caution.

All the lights were off, and the howling wind made the curtains flap against the walls. Only the faint moonlight shone through the window and illuminated Emiya's bed.

But before Emiya could project his weapon, a gentle and refined, extremely young voice rang out.

"excuse me."

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the depths of the room. A boy dressed as a priest turned around and gave Shirou Emiya an incredibly gentle smile.

“Shiro Kotomine, a clergyman of the Eighth Secret Order of the Holy Church.”

"Please forgive me for arriving here without saying goodbye."

Kotomine Shirou revealed his identity to Emiya Shirou as he entered the room, and also expressed his apologies.

Emiya didn't sense any hostility from the boy in front of him, as if they weren't two opposing camps.

After learning that Shirou Emiya had lost his Knight King Servant, they abandoned their surveillance of him in order to gain his trust.

Danic was always aware that Shirou Emiya knew he had been watching him, but the two of them kept it to themselves.

Now, in order to win over a combatant like Emiya Shirou, the surveillance has naturally been lifted.

"Kotomine?"

Emiya Shirou fell into deep thought the moment he heard Kotomine's surname.

He suddenly remembered that in Fuyuki City, where he lived, there was a church, and the priest there was named Kotomine.

If we consider parallel universes, then the priest in my city is probably one of the staff members of the church he mentioned.

But—Shirou?

This combination made Emiya feel like it was the name given to him after he was adopted by Father Kotomine.

"So, what's your reason for coming to the Black Faction's headquarters to see me?"

Shirou Emiya learned from Danic at the beginning that the Church of Christ was on the red side in this Holy Grail War.

There is also a Master from the Red faction.

And that Master must be the one standing in front of me, Kotomine Shirou.

"There are two reasons. First, I want to see what kind of person a Master who can defeat Archer head-on is. Second, I want to invite you to join the Red Team."

Kotomine Shirou's voice was extremely sincere, and Emiya Shirou could not detect even the slightest hint of conspiracy in it.

His every word and action was filled with goodwill that made people feel at ease.

Even Emiya felt like he was bathed in a gentle breeze.

"why?"

Emiya Shirou didn't understand, not only why he wanted to extend an olive branch to him, but also why he could appear so confidently at the Black Faction's headquarters.

"It must have been the right choice to come here to see you."

Kotomine Shirou nodded, a gentle smile on his lips, and walked up to Emiya Shirou with a hand outstretched, despite Shirou's puzzled look.

And he looked at Shirou Emiya with incredibly sincere eyes.

From the very first moment I saw you here, I knew that you and I were kindred spirits!

"similar----"

Emiya's eyes were somewhat confused. He looked at the man in front of him, who was somewhat dark-skinned but had an incredibly gentle smile, and unconsciously took the man's outstretched hand.

A burst of red light flashed the moment the two hands clasped, and magic merged at that instant.

The moment Emiya grasped his hand, he seemed to see—he saw what was behind him, he saw his past.

It was a scene of a general holding a katana, plunging the weapon into the ground, then clutching the flag in front of him, kneeling on the ground and pleading with the gods.

How desperate, and how heartbreaking.

The white-haired youth knelt beneath the flag, amidst a pool of blood, staring at the flag stained with blood before him, muttering incessantly.

"My flag, listen to me."

"If they are guilty, their only sin is believing in me and following me."

"I would gladly give my life."

"So please tell me how to save them."

"But if there is no redemption."

"If their lives are needed to end this battle..."

"Then I will give up saving people, I will save all mankind."

"Whether good or evil, whether the people are weak or the people are strong, I will save all mankind."

The white-haired boy stretched out his thin hand towards his flag, as if begging or offering himself. His tone contained both pleading and resolute agreement—what a complex expression it was.

What a noble aspiration to save all mankind.

At that moment, Emiya realized just how heavy and difficult this wish was to fulfill.

With a flash of silver light, the white-haired boy's head fell to the ground, and in his eyes, Emiya saw only endless pity.

The scene then shattered into fragments and dissipated in front of Emiya.

This brief dream describes the life of a certain heroic spirit.

This dreamlike experience was not unfamiliar to Emiya; on the very night he made a pact with Arthur, Emiya dreamt of everything about Arthur.

After he woke up, he talked to Arthur about the dream he had seen, but Arthur had already let go of his past and had no taboos about talking about his experiences.

Not only did it answer Emiya's questions, it also gave him a deeper understanding of the legend of King Arthur.