Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Cú Chulainn roared, his body spinning on the ground, his path instantly veered off course, and countless sword arrows flew past him.

With a whoosh, in the blink of an eye, Cú Chulainn once again pressed down on Shirou Emiya.

Without any hesitation, the instant Shirou Emiya entered the attack range, his arm trembled rapidly, and the demonic spear, like a crimson serpent, drew streaks of scarlet light in mid-air.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!"

The afterimages of the gun barrels appeared in mid-air, raining down on Shirou Emiya's entire body.

“Ding-dang-dang-dang—!”

The demonic spear, hurtling towards them with astonishing speed, clashed repeatedly with the crimson knight's sword in Shirou Emiya's hand.

It produced a continuous series of crisp, resonant sounds, as if playing a strange melody, striking out melodious notes.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang--!"

Under the relentless barrage of thrusts, even with the enhancement of his external magic, Shirou Emiya could only keep swinging his knight's sword to defend himself, his figure retreating step by step.

This is not a difference in strength, but a difference in skill and experience.

"Is that all you've got? Where did your earlier aura go?"

Facing Shirou Emiya, whose defenses were somewhat disheveled, Cú Chulainn mocked and provoked him, unleashing a barrage of attacks like a mad dog.

This resulted in several puncture wounds appearing on the armor.

If this continues, Cú Chulainn's torrential attacks will eventually pierce through the armor.

"Then let's talk after you dodge this attack!"

For some reason, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but retaliate against Cú Chulainn's taunts.

"Varied!?"

At that moment, a seemingly ordinary samurai sword flashed with an eerie light, speeding through the air beside Cú Chulainn.

"Fantasy Collapse—!"

"boom--!"

A crisp explosion rang out from the air at that moment.

The pitch-black, death-filled substance burst forth in that instant, scattering in all directions like locusts.

"A curse of poisons?"

Cú Chulainn, who appeared dozens of meters away in an instant, stared angrily at Shirou Emiya, who had stopped and was standing still.

He could sense that if he hadn't quickly used rune magic to protect himself during his retreat, preventing the curse from splashing out, he would probably have been completely devoured by that dark curse.

Shirou Emiya is still a high school student, yet he has already developed such insidious tactics. Cú Chulainn can't imagine what kind of person he will become if he continues to grow up.

Then, he moved slowly, once again assuming a stance with the spear tip pointing downwards.

The instant he appeared in this stance, Shirou Emiya seemed to see something terrifying, and crimson arcs of electricity instantly erupted.

Emiya Shirou retreated backward at top speed.

"Kid, you really do know about another way to unleash my magic spear—!"

Chapter 609 The Victory or Defeat is Decided

"I have no way to deal with your weapon—!"

Emiya Shirou, who had been retreating rapidly, stopped and made no attempt to conceal his fear of the spear in Cú Chulainn's hand.

Only by truly holding it in your hands can you understand the terror of that crimson spear.

The spear that pierces the deadly thorns (Gáe Bolg)

Grade: B

Type: Anti-personnel Noble Phantasm

Maximum catch: 1 people

Attack range: 2-4

Cú Chulainn modified Gáe Bolg, originally intended for use against armies, into a weapon for use against people; it is his ultimate move and trump card.

It is a move that reverses the "cause and effect" that means the order of things. At the moment it is released, the "effect" of "the opponent's heart being pierced" will be created first.

The "cause" that "the gun hit because the heart was pierced" occurred afterward. Without considerable luck, it could be said to be a move that was guaranteed to kill if released.

With its low mana consumption and powerful effect of "almost certainly destroying the enemy's heart," it doesn't require much mana, making it a very useful Noble Phantasm.

Because the gun had already "pierced the opponent's heart" when it was fired, killing Cú Chulainn first would not change that outcome, and therefore the trajectory of the gun could not be canceled.

If Cú Chulainn were to actually use it right in front of him and assume a stance to unleash "Gáe Bolg," Shirou Emiya would desperately retreat to escape the range of this Noble Phantasm.

"Tsk! How did you know that—?"

Cú Chulainn frowned deeply upon hearing Shirou Emiya's words. It wasn't surprising that Shirou Emiya knew his Noble Phantasm had two ways of being released, since the library could access his legend.

Strangely, he knew about another form of release.

Library books don't contain detailed records down to the precise movements.

If it really existed, Rin Tohsaka would have discovered it long ago.

Upon learning her Servant's true name, Rin Tohsaka immediately went to the library to collect all the information, summarize and organize it, and determine how her opponent would judge and act if they knew her true name.

Therefore, Rin Tohsaka doesn't care that Shirou Emiya is collecting information about Cú Chulainn in the library.

"Then you'll have to decide for yourself—!"

With these words of utter disregard for Cú Chulainn, Shirou Emiya's various sword arrows transformed into beams of light and hurtled towards him.

"Hmph! Smooth talker! But do you think you can get away with this like that?"

Cú Chulainn let out a cold shout, and his aura suddenly surged. The flying sword arrows were destroyed one after another by his superb spear skills.

With a sudden jerk of his spear, wisps of magic surged forth, accompanied by a roaring sound, and he shot off toward Shirou Emiya.

The whistling crimson spear clashed violently with the lightning-streaked knight's sword and a rapier shaped like a cross.

The violent collision erupted into a burst of intense sparks.

"It's not over yet!"

Cú Chulainn laughed loudly, his figure suddenly shifting as he brandished his spear, its red light flashing wildly, relentlessly stabbing at Shirou Emiya's vital points with cunning and ruthlessness.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Amidst the clanging sound of steel clashing against steel, two thunderous attacks collided violently between them, causing sparks to burst forth once more.

"Drink!"

Cú Chulainn's aura suddenly surged, veins bulging on his temples, and immense magical power coalesced on his spear, surging like flames. With a fierce jerk, he thrust it relentlessly towards Shirou Emiya's heart.

"Zi la——!"

The crimson lightning showed no sign of retreat, arcs of electricity surging from Shirou Emiya's arms as he planted his feet firmly on the ground, his entire body's strength coalescing into one.

One hand gripped the crimson knight's sword tightly, while the other held a rapier shaped like a cross, which seemed to have never appeared in such a fierce clash, as it suddenly collided with the spear.

"clang--!"

A terrifying force erupted in an instant, and both were sent flying backward by the powerful impact.

"In this final battle to the death, you can't escape just because you want to!"

As Cú Chulainn finished speaking, he suddenly exerted force with both feet, instantly creating a deep trench in the ground. In the path of his backward flight, Cú Chulainn quickly readjusted his spear to a fighting stance.

It's as if the battle has returned to the first round.

However, given the current situation, this distance...

"Try to take this! My fatal blow!"

The instant he finished speaking, a surge of crimson magic, like flames, erupted from Cú Chulainn's spear, which was aimed at the ground, creating waves of air that disrupted the atmosphere.

A thick layer of magical energy covered it in a very short time, becoming increasingly concentrated.

In less than the blink of an eye, an energy shield containing terrifying magical fluctuations formed on the crimson spear.

Having regained his footing, Shirou Emiya's body began to tense up.

My heart was pounding like a steam engine, and my breathing was almost stopping.

The magic emanating from that spear was far too dangerous.

Under these circumstances, at this distance, Shirou Emiya has no chance to retreat from the distance from where Cú Chulainn's Noble Phantasm has been released.

But wasn't this exactly what he had anticipated?

In this one-on-one situation, no matter how much strategy Shirou Emiya devised, he was unable to stop Cú Chulainn from unleashing his Noble Phantasm.

At the start of the battle, the two were too close together. Given Cú Chulainn's speed, Shirou Emiya had no chance to create a distance of more than several hundred meters.

He had to face the causal, heart-wrenching blow.

It's just that Shirou Emiya kept trying, trying to see if he could defeat Cú Chulainn without directly facing such an attack.

But clearly, Shirou Emiya failed.

The armor was removed at that moment, revealing Shirou Emiya inside, who unhesitatingly reached his hand into the veil.

Saving time for projection, Shirou Emiya pulled out a crimson spear from it.

When Cú Chulainn saw the crimson spear in Shirou Emiya's hand not far away, his eyes widened slightly, but then a ferocious smile appeared on his face.

"Then let's see who comes out on top!"

Suddenly, Cú Chulainn's spear trembled violently, and a moment later, he stomped his foot on the ground and charged forward like a blur.

"Pierce the Death Thorn Spear (Gáe Bolg)!"

As the shout subsided, Cú Chulainn suddenly raised his spear high above his head and thrust it forward with tremendous force.

"choke!"

On the crimson spear tip, a surge of crimson magic erupted, causing the blood-red light to intensify dramatically. It transformed into a streak of red lightning that pierced through space, flashing back and forth like a random bolt of lightning before hurtling towards Shirou Emiya.