Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Will Shinji Matou take all of this for granted?

No, even if it's really for my ridiculous pride.

"I don't need your help, I don't need you to save me! I am Shinji Matou, this kind of thing can't do anything to me!"

Those words sounded like those of an arrogant person who couldn't even recognize the situation at hand.

He even seems like an ungrateful person who only vents his incompetence on others.

But at this moment, Shinji Matou displayed a behavior completely different from that of an arrogant person.

His legs were trembling.

That was the fear of death.

That was the desire to survive.

"Shinji——!"

Shirou Emiya tried to stop Shinji, but an abnormal data point instantly separated the two of them.

"Get out of here!! I'll show you what a true genius is! These things can't stop me at all. If I hadn't been careless, I definitely wouldn't have been eliminated by you in the first round!!!"

Seeing Shirou Emiya standing behind him, Shinji Matou vented his inner turmoil with immense anger.

"Shinji——!"

Emiya Shirou wanted to project his Noble Phantasm to destroy the distorted data.

But now the only way he can destroy this distorted data is through illusion collapse, but Shinji simply cannot withstand such close-range illusion collapse, let alone anything else.

However, Shinji Matou seemed genuinely unconcerned about Shirou Emiya, and with trembling legs, he turned straight around.

"Let me see what you are!!!"

Watching the dark tide surge toward him like a tsunami, under the threat to his life, Shinji Matou seemed to use all his strength, his hands instantly turning into phantoms as he frantically pounded on the keyboard in the void in front of him.

This was his decision.

It was a decision he made after countless struggles in his life.

He didn't want to continue being so cowardly, what kind of genius was he, what kind of Asian gaming champion?

After experiencing all that, Shinji Matou felt his own insignificance. He realized that genius was nothing more than a wall he had built to protect himself.

"Boom-thump-thump-"

That was the sound of a heartbeat.

A very strong and powerful heartbeat.

In such a horrific disaster, his individual strength was incredibly weak.

Compared to Shirou Emiya's constant barrage of Noble Phantasms, Shinji Matou, a hacker who considers himself a genius, doesn't possess many special abilities.

"You'll die!"

"You'll die!"

"You'll die!"

Shinji Matou was filled with fear, but his hands did not stop moving.

Shinji Matou would rather die than live a pathetic life hiding under the protection of others.

Under the threat of death, Shinji Matou's brain begins to work at breakneck speed.

"I'm a genius!"

The next second, the pitch-black dark tide instantly swallowed Shinji whole.

"hateful!!!!"

Emiya Shirou pounded the ground and quickly stood up. He had witnessed the death of someone else once again and felt his own powerlessness once more.

only------

In that instant.

An incredibly dense stream of distorted data instantly surged up the entire dark tide. The surging dark matter and its flailing tentacles seemed to be frozen in time, their movement halted under the influence of the distorted data.

"I'm a genius—!"

"You are a true genius—!"

With these words in mind, Shirou Emiya clutched his aching abdomen and ran toward the school.

The stagnant undercurrents also swallowed up the distorted data within minutes.

Chapter 679 Grab My Hand

Tsukiumihara Academy.

He is the center of this virtual world.

It is the location for both the preliminary rounds and the main rounds of the Holy Grail War.

All the contestants are members of Tsukimihara Academy, whether they are students or teachers, and all of them are affiliated with Tsukimihara Academy.

To enter the arena and participate in the finals, these activities can only be carried out within the Moonsea Academy.

It is also the place with the most complete facilities in the world.

At this moment when problems arise in the computer world, the only thing Shirou Emiya can think of right away is Tsukimihara Academy.

Moreover, besides Shirou Emiya's own judgment, there was also the influence of the Command Seals on his decision to go to Tsukimura Academy.

No, it should be said that it was Joan of Arc's guidance that led me toward Tsukimihara Academy.

However, by this time, Tsukimihara Academy had already been eroded by those things that were like noise.

If this invasion is a planned operation, then Moonsea Academy, as the center of this virtual world, will naturally become the primary target.

It could even be said that the purpose of those surging undercurrents was to devour the entire academy.

But Shirou Emiya never knew who did these things or what their purpose was.

All I got was that inexplicable broadcast.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The blackish-purple, noisy, tentacle-like creatures clung to the ground and the wall. They seemed to have noticed Shirou Emiya, and countless spikes tore through space, shooting towards him like a hurricane.

This kind of attack is something that normal magicians cannot handle. If most magicians were still in school, even if they awakened their memories, they would not be able to resist it.

It will only be torn to shreds by this relentless onslaught.

Along the way, Shirou Emiya has not seen any other living people besides Shinji Matou.

Normally, I should be staying in the academy like them.

However, before Shirou Emiya could react, the city behind him was plunged into darkness as if a power switch had been pulled.

The whole world seemed to be assimilated by endless darkness in an instant, and all that could be seen was a black ocean.

It was only at this moment that Shirou Emiya realized that the person who caused this anomaly also wanted to lure him to the Moonsea Academy.

Those undercurrents probably had the ability to cover the entire city outside in an instant, but they gave Shirou Emiya enough time to reach Tsukimura Academy.

"Did you run all this way to see me, Mr. Emiya?"

As if welcoming someone, the terrifying entities carrying noise within the academy vanished without a trace.

Sweet and alluring, almost coquettish, innocent yet wicked, the voice of a young girl.

Emiya Shirou felt the voice was familiar, but for a moment he couldn't place it as anyone's.

It came from the void, just like the original broadcast.

"who are you?"

Upon hearing these words, Shirou Emiya showed no sign of panic. Instead, he gripped his reverse blade tightly and looked up at the sky.

"Hmm, Mr. Emiya, do you want to fight? But in your current condition, even holding a weapon would be difficult for you."

Although it sounded somewhat sarcastic, as if he didn't care about the threat Shirou Emiya could pose, for some reason, Shirou Emiya could sense the concern in those words.

Of course, on the other hand, the voice was changing the subject; the female voice didn't seem to want to directly answer Shirou Emiya's question.

"I really wanted to help you forget those painful memories and let you experience real high school life."

The voice from the void seemed somewhat sorrowful, as if it truly wanted Shirou Emiya to forget the past and start his life anew.

However, with the enemy in the dark and us in the light, Shirou Emiya couldn't even pinpoint the enemy's location. He could only stand there, his expression tense, constantly observing his surroundings.

"Mr. Emiya, don't worry, you will be the victor of the Holy Grail War—"

"You don't have to keep fighting like that, you don't have to go through the trouble of gathering intelligence on your opponents, and you don't have to risk your life all the time."

"Mr. Emiya, all you need to do is get a good night's sleep, and I will take the Holy Grail from you—"

Forget the troubles of the past, forget the pain of the past—

The girl's words, like those of a demon, echoed continuously in the void, and for some reason, the severe headache was soothed at that moment.

The previously empty ground began to continuously reveal that pitch-black substance, which expanded outwards and devoured everything in its path.

At this moment, Shirou Emiya's abdomen, which had been pierced earlier, was completely stained with a black substance.

A feeling of weakness had already spread throughout my body.

"I don't know what you want to do, or what your purpose is?"

"But my past is not painful, and I have no desire to take away any Holy Grail!"

"These are all ideas that you imposed on me without my consent!"

Such words could not shake his mind at all.

Shirou Emiya bit his tongue hard, regaining consciousness once more, only to be overwhelmed by excruciating pain once more.

The person hiding in the void seemed to have used some kind of hypnotic technique to prevent Shirou Emiya from feeling the intense pain he was experiencing.

But in reality, this excruciating pain has been with him all along.