I am the protagonist

Saber also agreed with Rin's suggestion. No matter how much they enhanced Shirou's safety, nothing was more effective than Shirou himself becoming stronger and safer. The best protection for Shirou now wasn't to arm him to the teeth, but to raise his strength to the level of a Heroic Spirit.

Rin naturally knew that Shirou was more suited to Archer's fighting style, which is why she made this suggestion. In fact, Shirou was even more suited to this fighting style, which did not require any concern about mana consumption, than Archer.

"Archer... I've already seen that guy's fighting style once, so I probably don't need to go looking for him."

"Shirou, just give up on this. Even if you've witnessed Archer's fighting style, the most crucial aspect of that style is projection magic. No one else can compare to Archer in the application of projection magic; he should be your best teacher."

Rin, seeing Shirou's reluctant expression, knew he didn't want to go to Archer, but there was no other way now. Archer had an extraordinary level of proficiency in projection magic; he had used projection magic to perform many abnormal operations in the past. It was quite necessary for Archer to take Shirou into that inhuman realm.

"The reason I'm making this suggestion is that I hope you can completely master the Reality Marble from Archer. Mastering the Reality Marble means you truly possess a certain level of power. The Reality Marble can greatly enhance your strength, so you won't have to think about escaping anymore."

"Hey……"

Shirou desperately wanted to tell Rin that he had already mastered the Reality Marble, but he genuinely didn't know how to say it. He'd only been out of the hospital for two days, and he'd already created the Soul Materialization, the Mystic Eyes, and now if he did something else, Shirou believed Rin would suspect that something else had happened to her.

Faced with the gaze of three pairs of eyes, Shirou had no choice but to surrender.

"Alright, although I'm not very willing to do this, I will still listen to you and learn projection magic and Reality Marble."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Slapping Archer in the Face

"Oh my~ Isn't this the 'Partner of Justice' who was so sarcastic yesterday?"

"The lament of a defeated dog, only the dogs of losers make such a nasty sound. Are you envious? Aren't you very envious? Since you're so envious, then let you be envious to your heart's content. After all, I'm not such a petty person."

Shirou wore a faint smile, completely unaffected by his earlier words. He was noble and elegant, lacking any of the nouveau riche air about him. He was every inch the refined gentleman, and compared to Shirou, Archer paled in comparison.

Archer's facial muscles twitched. He suddenly noticed another change in Shirou Emiya. It seemed that since being discharged from the hospital, the man had undergone an evolutionary transformation in every aspect except for losing his past memories. In particular, his mouth had become incredibly sharp, and he truly showed no mercy in his words.

The people standing nearby were speechless. The two of them were already very hostile before the matter had even officially started. If it really started, this tension might escalate the relationship between them once again.

"Archer, you should also control your emotions."

Rin isn't blind; she knows who started the emotional outburst. This time, Shirou didn't say anything hurtful to Archer; instead, Archer launched the personal attack first. Now, Rin believes Archer is the one who needs to control his emotions; she's noticed he's been too emotional lately.

"...I'm sorry, Rin."

Archer can't help but want to stab Shirou Emiya whenever he sees him, especially after Shirou personally dissected his heart. Every time Archer thinks about it, he feels like pulling out a knife and stabbing Shirou to death, but reason tells him he can't.

Reason told Archer that he absolutely couldn't do anything too extreme; all he wanted was to change his past self's thoughts. Now that his past self's thoughts had been completely altered with the loss of his memories, he had achieved his desired goal.

It was this amnesiac Shirou Emiya that made him very angry.

Archer trembles with rage every time he thinks of what Shirou Emiya said.

"I also think you need to control your emotions. Being so emotional isn't good for being a guardian."

At that moment, Archer saw Shirou Emiya's smiling face and he really wanted to pull out Moye Ganjiang and stab him twice. That intense malice made his eyes bloodshot.

"Shirou, you should say less."

Seeing that Archer was about to lose control of his emotions, Rin rolled her eyes at Shirou. Mediation between these two was probably the most difficult task. In the past, Rin was only worried that Archer would do something to Shirou, but now it had become Shirou unilaterally pushing Archer to his limit.

Shirou shrugged and decided not to push Archer to his limits, which relieved Rin.

"Archer, you should already know what I'm about to say, right?"

"...Ah, let this guy master projection magic, and if possible, let him master Reality Marble."

Rin subconsciously forgot about Archer's obvious reluctance; at this moment, Shirou's safety was the most important thing, and whether Archer was willing was another matter entirely.

Archer was extremely reluctant, both outwardly and inwardly, especially to teach the amnesiac Shirou Emiya how to master projection magic and Reality Marble. However, Archer hadn't forgotten what Rin had said, and Shirou Emiya was currently facing a very troublesome situation.

Although I'm very reluctant, considering the potential trouble later, I'll teach him a little more seriously.

"Rin, I have no problem teaching him, but if he dies halfway through, then it's not my problem."

"You really have the guts to say something like that, you loser. That line should actually be mine. If I kill you halfway through teaching you, it won't be my fault."

"...Oh, really? Then I'll see if you're qualified to say such things now."

"So you really want to see it? Well, it's fine to let you see it. But I also have some requirements for you. After all, you're the gatekeeper of Rin's house now. If I kill you, I won't be able to give Rin an explanation."

Archer's facial muscles nearly crumbled at those words; at that moment, both his inner malice and the malice on his face surged forth. Regardless of whether Emiya Shirou could learn projection magic and Reality Marble, he would seize the opportunity to teach him a lesson he shouldn't miss.

[Oh no! Archer's getting emotional too.]

Rin, who was constantly watching Archer's emotional changes, knew that things were starting to turn bad. Rin had known before that nothing good could come of these two getting together, but she didn't expect that her premonition would come true so quickly.

Rin quietly approached Medusa and Saber. She was no longer able to handle what was happening there, so she could only ask the two of them to stop what was about to happen.

(Saber, Rider, if Shirou and Archer get out of control later, I'll have to trouble you guys to handle it.)

Saber and Medusa had already been informed by Rin, so they knew how to handle any special situations.

"Then let me show you the essence of projection magic through a real-world demonstration."

Archer conjured two swords in his hands, known as the "Gan Jiang and Mo Xie" twin swords. These swords are of considerable skill, possessing both dual-wielding techniques and the special ability to cleave summoned creatures in two. They are also Archer's frequently used weapons, and after numerous projections, they are considered the most faithful to the original canon.

Is this projection magic?

Shirou was still quite interested in the skills labeled "Projection," but now that his job level was maxed out, "Projection" had become "Imagination." He hadn't tried it before to see if it was more powerful, so now he could give it a shot.

The same pair of swords appeared in Shirou's hands.

[The projection speed is incredibly fast! A lot has happened to this guy, and even Mo Xie and Gan Jiang can be projected so quickly.]

"Then I'll teach you here. A projected weapon is unusable. It's just an empty shell; it's a weapon with no internal components, merely something that looks good."

"when!"

"!?"

Archer stared in astonishment at the twin swords in Shirou Emiya's hands. The twin swords, which should have been destroyed the moment they touched, were completely intact and still firmly held by Shirou Emiya.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Shirou's Weapons Are More Realistic

This guy's dual swords have a flaw.

The moment the swords touched, Shirou sensed that the opponent's twin swords were incomplete and broken, and at the same time, the sword technique called "Emiya" flashed through his mind.

[Memories lingering on the knife? How could something like that appear? Isn't this blatant cheating?]

Shirou wasn't sure if what he was doing counted as cheating, but the moment he saw his opponent's twin swords, he created the same ones. Shirou had forgotten how he did it; he only remembered that the twin swords appeared in his mind, and his hands already felt heavy.

Seeing Archer's twin swords slashing down at him, his body instinctively began to parry with the swords. The moment he gripped the twin blades, his knowledge of twin-sword techniques and experience, as well as many memories of combat, flooded his mind—it was as if the combat experience that came with creating the twin blades was simply an extra step in the process.

Shirou stared intently at Archer's twin swords, the black lines on them becoming clear to him. He brought the blades close to the black lines, and with a gentle push, his twin swords easily sliced ​​through Archer's blades.

"!?"

How did this guy... do that?

It wasn't the work of any magic, and Gan Jiang and Mo Xie showed no sign of collapsing, yet in that instant, his Gan Jiang and Mo Xie were sliced ​​open. Archer was quite confident in his projection skills; a projection honed through countless trials would never be so easily defeated.

Theoretically, that should be the case, but why is this guy's projection even more solid than his own, which has been forged through countless trials? Archer is particularly puzzled by this.

(Rin, is that Shirou's Mystic Eyes?)

Medusa noticed that Shirou's eye color had completely changed in that instant, his pupils flashing a deep blue light with a ring of iridescent light in the center. She wasn't very skilled in magic, but she knew a great deal about the Mystic Eyes.

Just now, Shirou's eye color changed and he instantly shattered Archer's twin swords. The weapon created by the projection magic did not collapse immediately, which means that there was nothing wrong with Archer's magic. It was Shirou who used his own power to cut Archer's twin swords.

(I think so. I already know the specific function of that Mystic Eye, but I'll have to hear Shirou's explanation of how he uses it to understand its effects more directly.)

Those were eyes that could see death. Rin didn't know exactly what "seeing death" meant, but according to her teacher, they were eyes that could see death. But what was the purpose of eyes that could see death?

(Rin, so you didn't know.)

(...Those aren't easy to find; many records only mention a small portion of them. All the teacher knows is that Shirou awakened a very high-level Mystic Eye, and its only function is to see death. Whether it has other functions, I don't know yet.)

Archer glanced at the twin swords and immediately reforged two more. The moment the twin swords were created, he hurled them at Shirou Emiya.

Shirou glanced at the incoming twin swords, then hid them behind his back. He concentrated his magic power into the swords, and the moment the magic power was concentrated, the twin swords extended, transforming into weapons that could be called longswords.

With a flash of light, Archer's projected twin swords were sliced ​​in two.

"!?"

[This guy! ]

Archer knew his probing was correct; the twin swords had been severed instantly. It wasn't a brute-force cut, nor a skillful one, but rather the instant Shirou Emiya's projected swords, Moye Gan Jiang, made contact.

There was absolutely no logic to it; the moment the twin swords were swung, the fate of being severed was already decided. Archer couldn't understand what kind of phenomenon this was, but all he could do was probe this ability.

"I am the bone of my sword!"

A longsword with spiral patterns appeared in Archer's hand, which he then transformed into an arrow and nocked on his bow.

"Archer!"

Rin gasped in surprise at this scene. She only wanted Archer to teach Shirou projection magic and Reality Marble, not for Archer to treat Shirou as an enemy. But her hands were held back by Saber and Medusa.

"Rin, calm down and keep watching. The one in a favorable position right now isn't Archer. Archer is trying to use projection magic to test Shirou further."

"Shirou's Mystic Eyes countered Archer's projection magic. No matter what method Shirou used, he really managed to cut Archer's weapon in half. That wasn't a phenomenon caused by strength, skill, or the weapon itself, but by Shirou's Mystic Eyes."

After Rin calmed down a bit, she realized that Archer was really anxious this time, even to the point of being unlike his usual calm demeanor.

"It's not just that Archer's weapon was countered by Shirou's Mystic Eyes; the weapon Archer projected was also inferior to the one Shirou projected. This should be the first time Shirou has used projection magic since losing his memory. If the weapon he projected was of poor quality, he wouldn't have been able to deploy Archer's weapon so easily."

"Shirou is superior in terms of the level and quality of his projection magic. Archer's projection magic is honed through countless trials, but the weapons that Shirou projects are closer to reality."

Rin found this a bit strange. She had asked Archer to teach Shirou projection magic and Reality Marble because she wanted him to become stronger. But if the weapon Shirou projects is stronger than Archer's, is this kind of training still necessary?

[Is Shirou's projection magic really that powerful? Or is it an additional benefit of materializing his soul? If only I had detailed information and intelligence at a time like this, I wouldn't be stuck here analyzing things like this.]

Rin thought about it and could only conclude that this change was due to the materialization of his soul affecting Shirou. Having completed the Third Magic, Shirou was essentially a mage, and the difference between a mage and a magician was significant. Thinking about it this way, Rin actually felt that Shirou's situation was rather normal.

[The Spiral Sword, however, still has significant flaws.]

The spiral sword in Shirou's vision became increasingly clear, and its structure spontaneously appeared in his mind. Through the spiral sword's structure, Shirou knew that the flaw caused this weapon to be of very low quality. In fact, it was rather low-quality, merely on par with the dual swords he had just used.

[Testing my Demon Eye? Very well, I'd like to see just how far my Demon Eye can go.]

Shirou opened his eyes wide to carefully observe the spiraling sword that was shooting towards him like an arrow.

Chapter Thirty: Everything is subject to the concept of death.

Time seemed to slow down at this moment, allowing Shirou to better contemplate the current situation.

[I can see the death line on the sword. As long as the death line exists, this level of projection magic has no effect on me. Simply cutting it open will still cause some problems.]

The sword possessed an incredibly violent inner power, almost rendering it unusable. Any external attack would cause it to shatter, and even simply cutting it open would inflict some damage on Shirou. So, how could he destroy this sword without harming himself?

[If we destroy the sword's exterior, but rather its interior? If we directly destroy the very foundation of the sword's existence, then its inner power would be incredibly violent; even if it were cut open, it wouldn't cause secondary damage.]

Is this even possible?

Unable to answer the question, Shirou could only stare at the black line on the sword, and the sword in his vision slowly transformed into another form.

[...Is this a sword model?]

The spiral sword in his field of vision had become a transparent model, and Shirou could see the sword's operation, movement, the magical power it contained, and even some of its hidden internal components.

How come I can see the sword's model? Is this something the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception can see? No, that skill should only show death lines.

【! ? 】

Shirou's pupils contracted slightly. He seemed to see a black line appear in the model—not one of the outer black lines, but one existing inside. Seeing that black line, Shirou instinctively raised his longsword and lightly swung it down from a distance.

"Oh!"

A cracking sound caused the powerful spiral sword to shatter on the ground halfway towards Shirou, and the scattered fragments instantly transformed into magical energy that sublimated in the air.

This scene left Archer wide-eyed, completely bewildered by what had just happened. Archer could see Shirou Emiya raise his sword, Bakuya, and swing it down at the spiral sword through the air, before the spiral sword he had created with projection magic shattered into fragments.

[Missed it! That last strike definitely missed!]

Archer was certain that the previous strike hadn't directly damaged the Spiral Sword, so why was that? Even without directly destroying the Spiral Sword, he had managed to slash it down completely through the air.

What did this guy do? No, this guy definitely did something.

Shirou, who caused this phenomenon, is beginning to understand what he has done. At first, he thought there was only one way to use the Mystic Eyes, but now it seems that there are many possibilities for expanding the use of the Mystic Eyes.

"...I see, now I finally know what can be cut off."

concept!

Magic is a concept, and a duel between magicians is a duel of concepts. In other words, magic is something that can be severed. By seeing through the concept, one can see its end. Even if the end of the concept has not yet arrived, it can still be seen with these eyes, and one can even sever it.

Not only can tangible matter die, but even intangible concepts can also die. If a concept is severed, the entire concept is severed along with it. If that concept is a form of magic, then even magic can be severed directly.

Not only is physical death visible, but internal death can also be seen.

[Interesting, really interesting.]

Shirou was becoming increasingly interested in this skill. He had already learned from his previous attempts that these eyes could easily tear open even space itself. The fact that a mere flick of the finger could create a rift in space was something Shirou would have never believed before.