Part 209: Rin's clever attack

Video: Sword and Fist (mirror)

Music: Clashing Souls







But I don't have such reflexes.
I can't dodge them, and first of all, I can't even see his fists.
I can't dodge them when I can't even see his fists.



"!"



I bear it and parry the fist going for my temple using the sword in my right hand.





"Hah"
I shudder at his stance.
I won't be able to withstand the next attack.
It's miraculous that I was able to parry the attacks until now.
It doesn't feel real. I hoped that I'd be able to protect myself and buy time for Tohsaka until she defeated Caster, but such hope disappeared after I took the first blow.

Kuzuki Souichirou took our previous battle into account.
I was able to fend off Kuzuki as he attacked Tohsaka back then.
So I thought I'd be able to fend him off again if I had Archer's twin swords.
But.
In other words, it means that I won't be able to do anything without them.

Kuzuki knows that.
What he did first in this battle was try to take the swords away from me.





"Guh!"
The sword in my right hand is destroyed.
The fist, strengthened with Caster's magic, shatters my sword with a few blows.

"Trace, on……!"

I immediately reproduce the shortsword.
I can't hope for high results with a forced projection, a quickly prepared sword.
As a result, the twin swords start to lose their precision.











Something is scraped away inside of me every time I project something.
It's not the sensation of using up magical energy.
It feels like my precious Magic Circuits are disappearing one by one, every time I make a sword.









I shielded my chest with my blades.
In that instant, my swords were destroyed, and the impact flung me away.
I feel something hard on my back.
…I must have been pushed back about five meters.

"Haguh."
I try to draw a breath and realize that I can't.
The penetrating impact has numbed my heart.
I can't breathe, and I can't move.
It's only for a few seconds.
In the few moments it takes my heart to resume its work…





"Hah"
The devil approaches.
This is it.
This man could kill me if I dropped my guard for only a second.
With me like this, he has time to do it six times over.

""
I glare at the enemy.
Even if my limbs won't move, there's something I can do.
First of all, I'm not suited for melee combat.
Emiya Shirou's weapon has always been his magic.
Thenit's not over yet.
My role is to keep Kuzuki busy. I can't give up without fulfilling my role!

Music: Stop







Video: Casting Competition (mirror)

Music: Breach



Caster points her finger with a composed expression.
The magic is "aero", plague wind.
Caster does not need to cast her magic.
For a witch that lived in the age of gods, incantations are unnecessary to connect herself with the world.
Caster is always surrounded by divine mysteries of ancient lore.
For Caster, magic is something she commands.
It is just like ordering her guard dog to attack.

"Acht…!"







She nullifies it with her treasured jewel.
She does not have the time to cast a spell, and she cannot match Caster with simple magic from the Magic Crest.

Their skills as magi are as far apart as heaven and earth.
To bridge that gap, she must use the power that she has spent a long time gathering.
Crystallization of magical energy that she has stored since she was born as a magus.
For this battle, she is prepared to use all nine jewels remaining from the original ten.



Even though her magic is nullified by pure magical energy, Caster keeps her smile.

Caster can continue using magic indefinitely,
while the girl must oppose Caster using jewels as amplifiers.
The difference between them is self-evident.
No matter how many jewels she might have, it cannot be more than ten or twenty.
There is no way Caster can be defeated with such a small arsenal.









She nullifies the electric charge with the seventh jewel.
She has six jewels left.
With six more spells from Caster, her last resort will be exhausted.



She does not react to the giggling voice and takes out another jewel to get ready for the next attack.
…As Caster says, the jewel will not break if she uses it to protect only herself.
The jewel should be able to protect her about three times.

…But she cannot do that.
Caster's magic covers the whole temple once it is cast.
Kuzuki should be protected by Caster, but he is an exception.
If she cannot nullify Caster's spell before it is completed, Emiya Shirou, who is keeping Kuzuki Souichirou busy, will burn and die.



"Oh, will you keep protecting him? That is good faith, but how long will it last? The result is clear if all you do is defend."
Caster moves her finger.

"Sechs. Ein Fluß, ein Halt…!"



She makes the first move this time.
Her jewels will run out and she will be killed if she keeps defending.
Caster's magic and her jewels.
The magical energy contained in them is the same, so it means she can beat Caster if she makes the first move!











She just needs to force her way through.
She unleashes a barrage of jewels to penetrate Caster's magical energy!





Moreover, she uses the treasured fourth jewel to add a synergistic effect.
This magic is beyond her limits.
'You can't use magic surpassing your own level.'
The one who said so is breaking the rule to execute this attack.
The attack will destroy not only the temple, but the whole church if Caster does not defend against it.









But the witch in purple blocks it like nothing.
No, she did not just nullify it.
Caster has swallowed all of her magical energy inside of her robe.

""
Tohsaka stands there in astonishment.

…Behind her, she can hear the sound of his defeat.
Sounds of breaking swords and his body slamming against the wall.

Music: Stop



"Oh, this is it? You still have more jewels, right? Why don't you keep going and try until you run out?"
""
She has no spirit to answer her.
…No matter how many jewels she may have, that was her greatest attack.
If even that attack is useless, then she cannot hurt Caster even if she has a hundred jewels

"I see. It seems you finally realized that you won't be a match no matter what you do. But it was fun. It has been a while since I last competed in magic.
Yes, you have value just because of that."
"!"
She stops herself from falling, holds in her nausea with her hand, and glares at Caster.



Even though I did play with you, you forced me to compete in magic."



Then Caster points at her…
As if to pronounce her death sentence.
"Disappear. It is a matter of time before that boy loses against my Master.
Let us finish before that."





Music: Footsteps of Destruction

"Huh?"
""



At that instant.
Tohsaka nullified the magic.

That's fine.
That's not surprising.
The surprise came after thatTohsaka charged in and attacked Caster!

Video: Self Defense (mirror)

Music: Clashing Souls



Tohsaka throws herself into hellfire.
Nullifying the magic and using it as cover, she attacks Caster.

"!?"
Caster's surprise is that of a magus.
She could not have predicted that a magus, defeated in magic, would attack with bare hands.
I didn't expect it either, so it must be like heresy for Caster, who is an excellent magus.



"Gufu………!?"
A shattering sound.
Tohsaka's fist must be "strengthened" like Kuzuki's, as her attack easily penetrates Caster's defense.





""
I'm fascinated by her combination.
Tohsaka drops after the first attack.
Putting her hands on the floor, she sinks below Caster's knees.
To Caster, who lacks any experience in hand-to-hand combat, it must look like Tohsaka disappeared.
She executes a strong sweep.





She lashes out her foot with all her might as if to cut off Caster's legs!

"Kya!?"
Her feet swept from beneath her, Caster lands on her back.



But it doesn't end.
After the sweep, Tohsaka gets up with her back turned to Caster, uses the turning momentum to attack with her elbow, and



"Take this…!"

Stopping her turning, Tohsaka punches with all her weight!

"Guh……!"
Caster's body is knocked away.
Taking the punch directly, Caster is smashed into the wall like me.





They are separated.
Tohsaka kicks the ground to cover the few meters in between them.
The match is settled.
Caster cannot move, and her wound seems fatal.



Caster doesn't have the energy to fight back.
Tohsaka runs to Caster with Saber-like speed and executes her finishing blow.

"Strengthening" of a few seconds using magic.
Tohsaka intended to fight Caster like this from the start.
Caster only saw a magus in Tohsaka.
She challenged Caster at magic so that she could achieve her one-time surprise attack.

And the plan worked.
Caster has been deceived and has lost completely.
Tohsaka has won the battle.
Yes.

Music: Stop

"No. That is it, Tohsaka."
If not for this man's monstrous ability.

Music: Footsteps of Destruction

If Tohsaka ran to Caster like a hurricane, he ran like the devil's wind.



Kuzuki Souichirou, the one who was in front of me until now, is standing in front of Caster.









"!"
She guarded her face with both her arms and jumped back, but she's still sent flying.
Tohsaka smashes into the wall opposite me, her arms dangling as if broken.



"You lost your chance. Your lack of experience shows in your inability to kill her after four strikes."
He speaks plainly.
…But that's not Tohsaka's fault.
The reason she lost her chance is because of me.
If I had kept Kuzuki busy, Tohsaka would have beaten Caster.



Sorry, but UBW doesn't always leave me with a good ending point. Here are screenshots of Caster's greek to make up for it: