Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Like a child, Shinji Matou gritted his teeth and angrily uttered harsh words to Shirou Emiya. He still remembered the time when Shirou Emiya knocked him down.

"It's truly pathetic. You struggled so hard to get out of the preliminaries, and now you have to lose in the first battle. I feel sorry for you!"

Shinji Matou's face was filled with ecstasy, as if he had no doubt that victory had already been his.

In his eyes, Shirou Emiya had absolutely no chance of defeating him.

"Shinji, your personality hasn't changed at all!"

Seeing Shinji clutching his Federation and lost in his own world, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but voice his disapproval.

Although he appears extremely perfect and calm in front of those girls, when he's with himself, Shinji always unconsciously gets lost in the things he's creating, and Shirou Emiya has long been used to this side of Shinji.

"Ha! Shinji, who are you calling? We're not that close. We have a blood feud!"

Hearing Shirou Emiya address him as Shinji again, he looked at Shirou Emiya with extreme displeasure.

"He was only restrained for a moment, and wasn't even injured, so how could it be a blood feud?!"

Looking at Shinji Matou like this, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but think to himself.

At that time, he was just holding back Shinji Matou and didn't do anything else. He was just like an angry child, which made Shirou Emiya not know where to start complaining.

However, this self-centered, privileged, and disdainful personality is indeed very similar to that of Shinji Matou, whom I know.

"Hmph! Let's have a fair fight! I'll beat you to a pulp! If you lose, you'll only have your own lamentations to bear!"

With those harsh words in mind, Shinji shook his seaweed-like hair, his expression quickly calming down. He gave Shirou Emiya a disgruntled look before leaving.

A fair and square duel

This was the first time Shirou Emiya had ever heard such words from Shinji Matou.

This kind of word seems to have nothing to do with a man named Matou Shinji.

But seeing his incredibly confident eyes, filled with a competitive spirit, Shirou Emiya seemed to understand that these words truly came from his own mouth.

"Is your first opponent Shinji Matou?"

Rin Tohsaka appeared beside Shirou Emiya at some point, looking at Shinji Matou, who had already left, with a faint smile.

"Hmm, do you know him?"

Emiya Shirou wasn't surprised, because he heard footsteps coming from the bottom of the stairs.

"Well, according to the memories this academy gave me, he and I didn't get along very well—"

Rin Tohsaka didn't mince words when replying to Shirou Emiya.

Because the pre-selection period only lasts four days, the other memories were inserted by Mooncell, and these memories were still retained by the magicians who were selected through the pre-selection process.

However, in Rin Tohsaka's memory, Shinji Matou never managed to gain any advantage over her.

"But you don't have a Servant yet. What will you do when the final battle comes?"

Rin Tohsaka seemed quite naturally worried about how Shirou Emiya would face the upcoming battle.

It seems she has forgotten that she and Emiya Shirou are actually enemies.

Let's take it one step at a time and see what happens.

Shirou Emiya could only scratch his head in response to Rin Tohsaka.

He didn't know exactly how big the gap was between himself and a Heroic Spirit.

We don't know what the outcome of this battle will be.

But all he could do was take it one step at a time, and he had no way of knowing what the outcome of this battle would be.

If there's anything he can do right now, it's to find out the true name of Matou Shinji's servant.

After all, many Servants can easily find a weakness once they learn his true name.

Of course, this is only a possibility; in most cases, it is not so easy to discover its weaknesses.

Just like the Holy Grail War he participated in, Arthur had no particular weaknesses and was extremely excellent in every aspect.

Karna is even more formidable; even now, Shirou Emiya cannot devise any way to defeat him.

Even if he unleashed the strongest holy sword he could project, he probably wouldn't be able to defeat Karna.

"Seriously, they have absolutely no planning whatsoever—"

Rin Tohsaka covered her face with a hint of helplessness and shook her head. Although it was Shirou Emiya's own battle, she seemed even more nervous than Shirou Emiya.

"Didi di di di!!!"

At that moment, the terminal in Shirou Emiya's pocket beeped.

"First password key generated. Please proceed to the first level of the arena—"

Emiya Shirou quickly finished reading the information.

Unexpectedly, having just found out who his opponent was, he had to go to the arena to find the secret key.

Chapter 540 The Moon's Longing for the Sea

maze.

This term is familiar to Shirou Emiya.

It could even be said that they are very familiar with each other.

During his time in Dungeon Fighter Online, Shirou Emiya faced countless labyrinths that could trap adventurers within them.

He has also killed countless monsters.

But what appeared before Shirou Emiya now, the labyrinth that Kirei Kotomine called the arena, truly shocked him.

High above, the deep blue sky is like a boundless curtain, completely enveloping the vast ocean.

The joyful cries of seagulls flying in the air could be clearly heard, and the radiant sunlight shone down from the horizon, landing at Shirou Emiya's feet.

The surging waves crashed against the cliff like giant beasts, each impact shaking Shirou Emiya's mind.

Broken cliffs, towering stone pillars, steep stone gates.

Bathed in the azure light, the landscape here resembles a scene straight out of a myth, stirring up indescribable emotions within one's heart.

Countless enormous sails lay fallen over the island.

Barrels, treacherous poles, and even cannons were deeply embedded in the cliff face and on the ground, making the whole scene incredibly intricate.

The all-consuming ocean constantly pounded against the island.

This is the arena where Shirou Emiya is currently located, and it will also be the battlefield for his final showdown with Shinji Matou – the Sea of ​​Thought.

Everything here is so real, so real that even the gentle sea breeze makes Shirou Emiya feel no sense of artificiality.

He never imagined that the labyrinth of this world would be like this.

So open, and so magnificent.

After all, aside from the darkness, the compactness, and the ever-present sense of danger that Shirou Emiya encountered inside the dungeon, he didn't experience anything else.

The purpose of dungeons is to kill adventurers, and they won't do things that have no meaning in killing adventurers.

Dozens of monsters began to emerge from the surrounding rocks, from the ground beneath his feet, and from the tattered sails the moment Shirou Emiya arrived.

He stared intently at Shirou Emiya with an extremely fierce expression.

He also quickly projected two guns, one black and one white, each with a blade, into his hand.

Emiya Shirou felt as if he had never encountered such a small number of monsters before.

After all, when you are in the dungeon, even in the first few floors you have to face monsters that are at least in the hundreds.

However, judging from their aura alone, these dozens of monsters are certainly not as weak as the monsters on the first few floors of the dungeon.

It is at least at the level of a deep-level monster.

After all, the enemies these monsters face are Servants, who are far beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

Even a magician can easily deal with the monsters on the first few floors of the dungeon, let alone a Servant who is even stronger than a magician.

Of course, this is not an absolute rule.

However, this Holy Grail War is a brutal struggle where only one of the 999 magicians will survive. If one cannot even survive the attacks of such monsters, then one should be eliminated early on.

"Roar--!"

"Zi——!"

A frantic roar and the crackling of electricity, as if an attacker had spotted a target, emanated from around Shirou Emiya.

The monsters that spawn here are not just beasts like in the dungeons; there are also mechanical creatures attacking Shirou Emiya.

Suddenly, a wildcat-like beast emerged from the cliff ahead, letting out a heavy roar. It landed on all fours, its muscles contorting, and with a sudden leap, it pounced towards Shirou Emiya.

Faced with the charging monster, Shirou Emiya swiftly raised his gun, aimed it at the beast's forehead, and the bullet transformed into a silver beam, flying with extreme precision toward the monster's head.

"Oh!"

With a muffled thud, the bullet shot out from Shirou Emiya's gun, tearing through the air without exception and piercing the forehead of the cat-like monster.

However----

"Roar--!"

The monster that swooped down from the air did not lose its life. Instead, it roared in pain, its eyes flashing with anger, and it swung its claws at Shirou Emiya.

"Qiang——!"

The loud sounds of the impact reverberated through the air.

Accompanying it were sparks that exploded suddenly, like fireworks.

Faced with the furious claw attack, Shirou Emiya quickly raised his twin pistols with blades to block it.

Immediately afterward, before the monster could unleash its second claw strike in mid-air, a silver arc of light flashed across its neck, under the watchful gaze of its fiercely narrowed pupils.

"Pfft——!"

The sound of flesh being torn apart rang out in front of Shirou Emiya at that moment.