What if you are reborn as a demon after a funeral?.

"Having been forcibly summoned, his physical abilities are far inferior to those of ordinary Heroic Spirits, and my condition wasn't very good either... So I wanted to try combining my mastery of time and space to unleash a magic-and-sword-skill version of the Swallow Return, and you just happened to appear. Thank you so much~"

It's not that he's truly gifted enough to fully utilize the memories he acquires; it's simply that his extensive past experience and skills, combined with these, allow him to create a temporary imitation that roughly corresponds to the memories.

This is what is meant by "once you understand one thing, you understand everything."

"...You're welcome." Although he clearly wasn't a magician, Soichiro was quite confident in his fighting abilities.

With ample time to prepare, Ash quickly completed his calculations and calmly raised his hand: "Swallow Return."

The next moment, the wind-breaking slash drew a triple trajectory.

It wasn't even almost, but truly at the same time, that three blades appeared.

Although in terms of speed, it is completely incomparable to the Light Executioner, and even its attack speed in normal state is far inferior.

However, its advantage lies in the fact that it is as if three people are attacking together, forming an encirclement of the enemy from different angles.

"What—!" Kuzuki Souichirou exhaled in confusion, but responded immediately.

His forearm precisely blocked a knife from the left, while the blade on the right was blasted away by his other fist.

He also surprisingly kicked away a blade that swept at his feet at high speed.

In mid-air, on the wide, gravelly ground, three overlapping metallic clanging sounds echoed in succession.

"...I really didn't expect that my attack would be blocked by such a weak guy." Ash took two steps back using the rebound force of the three swords, a look of emotion on his face: "Well, although it has some speed and power, the accuracy is still not as good as the original."

“Your attack is over, now it’s my turn!” Ignoring his mutterings, Kuzuki Souichirou’s eyes flashed and he strode forward.

A fist imbued with magical power swung out suddenly, accompanied by the sound of wind breaking, slashing towards Ash at an odd angle.

At the same time, Ash raised his blade once more: "Swallow Return? Modified."

"The same attack hit me...!"

Simultaneously, three blades were unleashed, each tracing a different trajectory... Such a tactic was astonishing, but he had already seen it before, and now he felt no surprise, only simple disdain. However...

"Four tracks?!" Soichiro Kuzuki's pupils suddenly contracted, and a hint of astonishment flashed across his previously calm face.

His eyes widened as he watched Ash's blade trace four perfect arcs in the air, like four silver ribbons intertwining in the moonlight.

Each strike was accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, attacking him from different angles.

He quickly adjusted his posture, trying to cope with the sudden change, but it was clearly too late.

Ash's blade drew four perfect arcs in the air, like four silver ribbons intertwined under the moonlight.

Each strike was accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, and as before, it attacked Kuzuki Souichirou from different angles, even faster than before.

Although Kuzuki reacted extremely quickly and barely managed to block three of the blows, another unexpected blow struck his shoulder with pinpoint accuracy.

Bang--!!

Several sounds overlapped, like the clanging of metal, echoing in the silent courtyard. This time, however, a spray of blood splattered from Kuzuki Souichirou's body.

Blood gushed from his wound, staining his suit red. His face remained stern, but his expression showed a hint of pain, and his breathing became somewhat rapid.

"I didn't expect... that you could improve the Swallow Return to this extent in such a short time," Kuzuki Souichirou said in a low voice, his eyes filled with vigilance.

At this moment, he understood that although his opponent was a Master, he was no ordinary person, and was even more dangerous than a Heroic Spirit. He had to go all out, or he would surely lose his life.

Ash smiled slightly, his saber still firmly in his hand: "Your reaction was indeed astonishing, but the limits of humanity... were reached much faster than I had imagined."

His smile carried a hint of confidence, as if declaring that victory in this battle was already in his grasp.

Soichiro Kuzuki did not respond, but silently adjusted his breathing, trying to stabilize his injuries. His eyes were sharp like those of a wounded beast, ready to launch a counterattack at any moment.

..............................

..............................

As night deepened, a tense atmosphere permeated the tranquil courtyard of the shrine.

Just as they were about to engage in a bloody battle, Melusin's clear voice drifted from the side: "Master, do you need my help? Although you said you would handle it yourself, he seems quite tenacious?"

She tilted her head slightly, her beautiful eyes filled with concern, her gaze shifting back and forth between Ash and Kuzuki Souichirou.

"No need, this is just an experimental improvement on swordsmanship."

"It would be so much better if I were here... Because, with that slow-moving knife, even if you cut it a hundred times, the result would still be the same." Melusin pouted, her face full of dissatisfaction.

“Melushin..…”

"However! To make such progress so quickly is truly impressive! Yes! I think it's amazing!"

The girl, who had just been scoffing at the technology, changed her tune instantly when faced with Ash's slightly helpless gaze, and quickly began to praise it.

Her eyes sparkled with sincerity, and then she obediently stepped aside with a smile, quietly watching the battle, like a well-behaved little guard.

These changes left Ash speechless for a moment.

Meanwhile, Kuzuki Souichirou was frowning, glancing sideways at the Command Seals on the back of his hand with a sinister look in his eyes. He was struggling intensely with his mind, hesitating whether or not to summon his servant.

He knew that the enemy's servant was capable of killing Kojiro silently, so his strength must be terrifying, and his own servant could not easily contend with him.

If one rashly summons a Servant, drawing the enemy's Servant into the battle, the situation could quickly spiral out of control and become even more difficult to manage.

Just as he was hesitating, Ash was already walking towards him unhurriedly. Seeing this, Kuzuki Souichirou glanced at Melsin, who was watching him intently, and finally gave up his plan to summon a Servant.

A resolute glint flashed in his eyes. Suddenly, he channeled his magic into his feet and launched an attack. For the first time, he took the initiative to control the situation, his figure rushing towards Ash like a ghost.

His fist was raised high, without any fancy preparation, yet it gathered powerful magic, and with a sharp whooshing sound, it struck Ash's chest like a cannonball, its momentum seemingly about to pierce through Ash.

However, just as Kuzuki Souichirou launched his attack, which should have struck his chest, an unidentified object struck him like a ghost towards the back of his head.

Faced with this bizarre situation, Ash seemed to have anticipated it, because... even if it was unexpected, it wasn't a problem.

This level of surprise attack couldn't escape his intuition at all, allowing him to discern the trajectory of all the attacks even if he hadn't discovered the scheme.

With a slight turn of the body and a light, fluid movement, he easily dodged the unexpected attack.

"What...!?" Having never failed before, the attack had inexplicably failed to work today, leaving Kuzuki Souichirou somewhat bewildered.

"How many battles do you think I've been through? If you succeed with this kind of trick, how am I supposed to survive? You underestimate me, Kuzuki Souichirou."

Ash's voice was deep and tinged with sarcasm.

He raised his military knife high again, drawing a silver arc in the moonlight.

"Yan Fan · Second Revision"

With a low shout from Ash, this time... the blade traced five paths in the air, like five silver lightning bolts intertwining in the night sky, aiming straight for Kuzuki Souichirou's vital points from different angles.

It was moving at an unprecedented speed, tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound, like a countdown to death.

A resolute glint flashed in Kuzuki Souichirou's eyes as he missed his first strike. He knew that his martial arts had lost their effectiveness in killing upon first sight, and now his only option was to fight to the death.

He gritted his teeth and charged towards the blade, attempting to trade blows, even at a heavy cost, to defeat this incredibly troublesome and bizarre Master.

However... the reality was far beyond his imagination.

As Ash's skills matured, he combined magic and technique, and the speed at which his five slashes fell in an instant far exceeded the speed of the first and second strikes, and even the power... was as great.

Kuzuki Souichirou thought he could withstand the blows as before, but the moment the blade touched his body, he realized how naive he had been.

He withstood the blade-like punches and kicks, but faced with forces far exceeding his expectations, he was instantly sliced ​​open like tofu.

In an instant, two deep, bone-revealing wounds appeared on his chest and neck, gushing blood like a fountain. His hands and right foot were also severed, the severed limbs flying through the air along with the blood.

As Ash suddenly turned around, he was kicked away.

With a loud bang, Kuzuki Souichirou's body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the temple wall.

A human-shaped dent appeared instantly in the wall, and bricks and stones fell off one after another.

Blood flowed down his body, pooling on the ground into a glaring pool, yet he... stubbornly remained alive.

"Wow... amazing... as a human, with his neck basically severed and his heart cut open, he's still alive?"

Ash stood still, watching the man not far away with a calm expression.

Soichiro Kuzuki opened his mouth as if to say something, but because his trachea had been severed, he could only make a hissing sound and was unable to utter a complete sentence, which looked rather terrifying.

In the eerie silence, a piercing scream suddenly tore through the night sky.

"——Souichiro-sama!!"

A figure resembling a bat, filled with intense panic and anger, rapidly approached from the distant horizon like a shooting star.

The newcomer was none other than Caster, who was completely shrouded in a purple robe.

The moment she appeared, the gruesome and bloody scene before her was like a heavy hammer, striking her heart hard. Shock instantly turned into trembling, spreading from the depths of her bones to her entire body.

Then, a roar filled with anger and grief erupted from her chest: "You...how dare you!!"

"Do not disturb Master."

Upon hearing this, Meilushin slowly raised her head. Her once clear eyes were now shrouded in frost, coldly piercing Caster's figure.

Caster's roar had not yet completely dissipated in the air when her figure vanished from her spot like lightning, reappearing in mid-air—in front of Caster.

As the sonic boom echoed and the wind howled, Caster's purple robes billowed wildly in the biting night wind.

Her eyes still held lingering anger and shock, but the next second, her expression froze.

A silver longsword had appeared in Melusin's hand at some point, and the killing intent emanating from her petite body froze even the moonlight.

Her movements were so fast that even ordinary heroic spirits couldn't catch them.

With a slight twist of her wrist, the blade traced a graceful arc in the air, carrying an unparalleled sharpness as it hurtled straight toward Caster's throat.

Caster's pupils contracted sharply, like a startled wild beast instinctively trying to cast a magical defense in a life-or-death moment.

But her movements seemed so sluggish under Melosin's sword.

Although she quickly constructed a defense using high-speed divine words, all of this seemed so pale and powerless in the face of this sudden and fatal blow.

With a flash of cold light, Caster's throat and the hastily constructed defenses were precisely severed.

In an instant, blood gushed out like a fountain, drawing a shocking crimson arc in the air and staining her purple robe.

"You...!" Caster managed to squeeze out a syllable, but before she could finish speaking, her voice was abruptly cut off by a punch from Melusin.

Her body fell like a cannonball, crashing heavily to the ground.

This conflict could hardly be called a real battle.

Despite Caster's extraordinary magic, it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot when facing Melosin, who possessed super-fast speed; he could hardly mount an effective resistance.