For now, Shirou put the matter of gunblades aside. He had no reference material to examine at the moment, nor did he have the spare magical energy to actually try using one.
Turning his attention back to the area he was monitoring, Shirou quickly slipped back into focus.
Scout was covering the other side, so Shirou only needed to concentrate on his own section.
There was nothing unusual about it. It was simply Lungmen's slums at night. Compared to the city districts, the buildings were shorter and the streets were dirtier but Shirou had already grown used to that.
Actually, Shirou preferred calling it the lower city district. It was just that most people were used to calling it the slums, so he followed suit.
He had no interest in trying to stand out. That would only make communication more troublesome.
As long as he remembered it himself, that was enough.
"Hm… these people really do not have it easy either."
Shirou noticed that even at this late hour, there were still people working.
Life was difficult no matter whether one lived in the slums or in Lungmen's main districts.
At the very least, quite a few members of the Guard Department were currently working overtime here as well.
"Shirou, did you notice something?"
Hearing Shirou's voice through the communicator, Amiya asked about the situation.
"Sorry, it is nothing. I was just talking to myself."
Only after Amiya asked did Shirou realize he had accidentally spoken his thoughts aloud. Thankfully, he had not been thinking about anything strange.
Like complaining about Blaze, Scout, Franka, or Liskarm.
"If you are tired, it is alright to rest a little. Scout can handle the surveillance work as well."
Remembering the concerns Chen and the others had expressed, Amiya felt it would be better not to overwork Shirou.
Honestly, although Shirou looked mostly fine after enduring the explosion earlier, he still had taken the blast head-on. Even Amiya, who had been standing far away, could clearly feel the shockwave.
And throughout the journey here, he had been continuously exerting himself. Fatigue was inevitable.
"Hmm… then I will leave things to you for a bit, Scout. I will rest for a while."
After carefully reassessing his condition, Shirou decided that resting for a bit was not a bad idea.
Recently, his mental state really had not been as good as before. The constant nightmares and mirror reflections had been wearing on his nerves. Although things had improved somewhat recently, they still affected him.
Mainly, there were enough people around now for him to accept resting. The old him probably would have forced himself to keep going no matter what.
But now, Shirou chose to follow Amiya's suggestion and take a break.
That did not mean completely slacking off, though. He merely reduced the range of his surveillance so the workload was lighter.
Leaving all the work to someone else was something Shirou simply could not do.
With a light tap, he switched off the communicator's microphone. This way, he would not need to worry about anyone overhearing him muttering to himself again.
At the same time, he reassessed his current condition.
Physically, he was fine. His magical energy reserves were acceptable as well. The only real issue was his mental fatigue.
Although he could force himself to stay focused and continue working, this operation still had no clear end in sight. He could not afford to push himself recklessly.
Moderate rest was important… who was it that used to say that again?
Was it Exusiai or Croissant? Or maybe Sora or Texas?
Hmm… no, probably not…
Maybe it was Rin?
If it were the people at Penguin Logistics, they would probably tell him to completely take a day off and properly rest.
Though he could not say for certain. His own memories were still fragmented. Aside from occasional flashes in his dreams, he could barely remember anything else.
And among those dreams, only the one where he lost his arm felt vivid and real. The others were all fragmented pieces.
Embarrassingly enough, some of them were even inappropriate for children.
Speaking of rest… it seemed he had not truly relaxed in a very long time.
Even during his free time, he was constantly absorbing knowledge about this world while training both his magecraft and physical abilities.
That did not mean Shirou disliked this kind of life. Although it was exhausting, it also felt fulfilling.
Still, for the current him, perhaps it really was time to properly rest for a day.
If this continued, things might become dangerous.
After all, the mirror in his room still had not been reinstalled.
"Shirou?"
Hearing Swire's voice through the communicator, Shirou immediately pushed aside all those thoughts and replied:
"This is Shirou."
"Chen and Hoshiguma have engaged the target. The enemy appears to be fleeing. Based on their movement path, they will likely head toward your side. Make sure you block the sewer exits."
Swire spoke rapidly and hung up immediately after finishing.
"…Understood."
Even though she probably could not hear him anymore, Shirou still responded.
Still… should this not have been reported to Amiya and the others? Rhodes Island was the main force here, after all.
Well, perhaps things were simply too chaotic over there right now. Swire herself was probably a little overwhelmed.
Or maybe she had simply forgotten about Rhodes Island's communication channel. In matters like this, Swire could be surprisingly careless.
Otherwise, she would not constantly use drones and loudspeakers for field command.
She only remembered the contact information of people she considered worth remembering.
"Scout, I am leaving surveillance to you for now. I am heading down to regroup with Amiya and the others."
Swiftly switching communication channels, Shirou quickly informed Scout of the situation before leaping down from above.
The height was not particularly great, so Shirou landed steadily without even using his Mystic Code.
"Did something happen?"
Seeing Shirou suddenly spring into action, the Rhodes Island group immediately became alert. Ace and Liskarm were the first to ask about the situation.
"Swire just contacted me. The targets are on the move and heading in our direction. She told us to prepare ourselves."
Already fully focused on work mode, Shirou wasted no time and directly relayed Swire's message to everyone.
"Understood. Jessica, Vanilla, please regroup immediately. Everyone else, prepare for combat at any moment."
After confirming the situation, Amiya immediately began gathering the squad and preparing for battle.
Shirou did not remain idle either. He placed his right hand against the ground and used structural analysis magecraft to sense the movements below.
The area beneath them was spacious. He could vaguely feel vibrations, probably from people running or fighting underground.
Seeing the strange patterns glowing on Shirou's right hand, the others tactfully refrained from disturbing him. Even their voices became quieter.
The area fell silent, broken only occasionally by faint crackling sounds from Shirou's hand.
"They are coming. Approximately five people. Stay alert."
Feeling people climbing up the ladder below, Shirou warned the group while reporting the number he sensed.
"Kitten, can you sense them too?"
Upon hearing Shirou's report, Blaze immediately turned toward Rosmontis, who stood behind everyone else.
"Not very clearly, but someone is definitely coming up."
A bead of sweat rolled down Rosmontis's forehead as she answered.
Even without engaging in combat, continuously using Originium Arts like this still consumed stamina.
"…Working together with Shirou is seriously convenient. He practically handles over half the workload by himself."
After hearing Rosmontis's confirmation, Blaze could not help sighing in admiration.
More teammates like this, please. That way she could just focus entirely on cutting people down.
"One person's stamina is ultimately limited. Unless absolutely necessary, teamwork is essential. Also, Liskarm, fall back a little. I will take point first."
Raising his shield before his chest, Ace spoke as he stepped forward, positioning himself in front of everyone.
At the same time, the hammer in his right hand was already prepared.
Just as he said, an individual's endurance was limited, which was why teamwork was necessary. And as the Defender of the team, it was his duty to block danger and attacks himself so the others could attack without restraint.
Liskarm silently stepped to the side, forming a layered defensive formation with Ace, one front and one rear, one left and one right.
Soon enough, movement came from the sewer cover.
The manhole cover was pushed open, and a disheveled-looking man climbed out while panting heavily, cursing all the while.
"How the hell did the Guard Department find out we were trading here? Were all the loose ends not already dealt with? Or was there a mole?"
As the man cursed, he suddenly noticed something strange.
Why did it feel so dark around him? No… those seemed to be human shadows?
Slowly raising his head, the man saw a shield rapidly growing larger in his vision until a loud bang echoed out.
And then he saw nothing at all.
The moment Ace knocked the man unconscious, Blaze immediately stepped forward and dragged the body away without making a single sound.
Meanwhile, Ace was already crouching down, preparing for the next one.
"..."
Still using structural analysis magecraft with his right hand to monitor the movement below, Shirou watched the two work together with such practiced coordination that everyone else seemed completely unsurprised.
He began wondering whether these people should first be sent to the Guard Department for investigation.
They were way too experienced at this.
Just how many times had they gone through this exact process? They did not even need to speak to cooperate this smoothly anymore?
Though his mind was full of questions, Shirou never stopped what he was doing.
"Hello? Where did everyone go?... What is Old Zhang doing up there?"
Another man's voice came from below after the first one was dragged away.
However, the subtle pause in the middle caught Shirou's attention.
The tone before and after did not match. It sounded almost as though the speaker was deliberately trying to mislead someone.
And there was no doubt who they were trying to mislead.
That only left one conclusion.
"Watch out!"
As if responding directly to Shirou's warning, a small canister-like object suddenly flew up through the manhole.
In that instant, Shirou felt as though time itself had slowed down.
The canister spun slowly through the air.
Even without analysis magecraft, Shirou immediately recognized what it was. After all, the Guard Department frequently used them during assaults.
It was a smoke grenade.
Its lethality was low, but once the smoke spread, it would still be rather unpleasant.
But Shirou did not want to take the risk, what if the other side had also added something extra inside it?
If the toxic smoke spread in this area…
Before Shirou could think further, his body had already started moving.
"Shirou?"
Seeing Shirou suddenly rush forward, Rosmontis called out his name in confusion.
However, Shirou did not respond. Instead, he leapt forward, grabbed the shoulder of Ace who was in front of the manhole cover, and used Ace as a pivot point to rotate once in midair.
At the same time, he put strength into his foot and kicked the smoke grenade back.
Releasing his hand and following the direction of the force, Shirou also descended downward.
This was not a mistake, but a deliberate action.
From what he had sensed earlier, the targets should all be on the stairway. If he went down like this, under no unexpected circumstances, he could take them all out in one move.
However, this carried considerable risk. If the Lungmen Guard Bureau forces arrived from below and surrounded them, the result would be the same.
It was simply that Shirou did not want to gamble on whether the enemy had anything besides smoke grenades.
After all, someone who could obtain large quantities of explosives would naturally not hesitate to carry some as well.
A decisive strike was the safest method.
A faint blue glow spread across his body, and the Lungmen Guard Bureau combat uniform he was wearing instantly transformed into a magecraft outfit.
Then, using his full strength, he brought his right foot down hard onto the hand of the person at the top who was gripping the ladder.
The strange sensation from the sole of his foot did not make him hesitate. Instead, he immediately followed through by kicking the person away from the ladder with his left foot.
Having lost their grip, the person was sent falling down with little resistance.
At the same time, because the space was narrow, when the first person fell, they naturally knocked into the second, third, and fourth, pushing them all downward together.
"...?"
Below, Ch'en and Hoshiguma were leading a Lungmen Guard Bureau squad in pursuit of the targets.
The enemy had chosen this location carefully, clearly having studied the route in advance, and had once shaken off pursuit.
However, with the assistance of instruments, the Lungmen Guard Bureau still managed to track them down and catch up.
That was how it was supposed to go…
But the layered, overlapping screams were far too loud. Just hearing them made everyone immediately know where the targets were.
Turning a corner, Chen saw several people stacked on top of each other below, surrounded by thick smoke. Then a red figure dropped down from above and landed firmly by stepping on the pile of bodies.
"Ah? Officer Chen? I have already handled things here and there is still one person knocked out upstairs."
After landing, Shirou held his breath and stepped out of the smoke, then saw Chen and Hoshiguma both wearing complicated expressions.
"Shirou… did you just throw them all down from above?"
Thinking back to the earlier screams, Hoshiguma felt she could already reconstruct what had happened.
Something like the Rhodes Island group dragging Shirou into throwing people down from above…
So Shirou had ended up influenced like that?
It seemed he should not be allowed to get close to that pharmaceutical company called Rhodes Island anymore.
"Throw them down? That is not what happened, I think. I just kicked the one at the top off the ladder."
Shirou thought about it briefly after hearing her words.
He had not thrown them down. He had kicked them down, so there was no issue.
"That makes it even worse."
Hoshiguma complained while watching Shirou seriously explain himself.
It was not meant as blame toward Shirou, but the earlier screams and the pile of people on the ground were simply too memorable.
They deserved it, but Hoshiguma did not want Shirou to become accustomed to handling things like this.
Strictly speaking, this already counted as vigilante action.
"Shirou, could you at least say something before you act? Cough…"
At that moment, another voice came from behind.
Blaze landed among the group again. Unlike Shirou's light descent, Blaze's landing was far more forceful.
If this had been on solid ground, it would likely have kicked up a lot of dust.
But here…
Shirou thought he might have heard the sound of bones dislocating.
He decided to pretend he had not heard it.
"I was worried that the smoke grenade might be toxic, so in a situation like that there was no time to consider everything."
Shirou explained as Blaze came down.
Chen and Hoshiguma roughly understood the situation.
These people had likely thrown a smoke grenade from the sewer opening, and Shirou had acted to stop it.
In that case, it was acceptable. He had only used heavier force in self-defense.
It was just that while stopping them, he had accidentally brought himself down as well?
Hoshiguma was starting to feel that she needed to properly talk with Shirou about the importance of self-care.
"For now, let's not pursue that matter. You said there is still one person upstairs, right? That makes a total of five… Swire, is there any other trace of additional people?"
Chen did not want to spend too much mental energy on this matter at the moment. Any discussion could wait until after returning, when she would properly "talk" with Shirou.
The priority now was to confirm the results of the operation.
"No, the intelligence from those people indicates there were only five. It is likely the seller abandoned them. But catching these people is already enough. As long as we pry open their mouths, we can find out who the seller is and take them all down in one sweep!"
From the other end of the communication device, Swire replied.
"Understood. Then let us clean up the aftermath. Also send a medical team. There are two seriously injured here."
After hearing Swire's report, Chen nodded and said this.
She then looked at the small pile formed by the four stacked individuals. She estimated that the topmost and bottommost ones were probably the most seriously injured.
One had been crushed at the bottom, and the other had been injured by Shirou and the feline operator wielding a chainsaw.
Although none of them said it out loud, the cracking sound when that feline operator landed did not sound reassuring.
However… since the enemy had thrown what appeared to be an explosive device, Shirou's actions were purely self-defense, so there was no issue.
The report could simply be written that way.