The gunpowder ignited with a burst of firelight, and in the next moment, large amounts of blood blossomed like flowers.
A normal firearm definitely would not have produced such an effect, but the guns in the man's hands clearly did not belong to the realm of ordinary weapons.
A pair of black-and-white twin guns, with blades attached to their frames.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say... gun frames attached onto Kanshou and Bakuya?
Either way, Shirou had no intention of digging deeper into it.
After all, the original owner had even forgotten the reason he picked up a gun in the first place.
After abandoning countless things, the only things left tightly grasped in his hands were... those two guns and Kanshou and Bakuya.
It looked somewhat sorrowful.
"..."
Thinking that, Shirou opened his eyes, and what entered his sight was the ceiling of Rhodes Island's medical department aboard the landship.
Several days had already passed since he used his Noble Phantasm to crush the Catastrophe.
At first, due to the combined effects of extreme exhaustion and overworking his magic circuits, he had become weaker than ever before, to the point where even lifting a hand felt difficult.
On top of that, he had gotten caught in a bit of rain, which only made his condition worse.
Although his memories were somewhat blurry, Shirou still remembered everyone carrying him to the office for a medical checkup, then hauling him into a vehicle and speeding all the way back to Rhodes Island.
After that, he remembered nothing.
Mainly because his physical condition had already been terrible to begin with, and the motion sickness piled on top of it had caused him to sleep soundly for nearly two whole days.
What awaited him after waking up were endless physical examinations and verbal lectures.
And there was no escaping them either, because those people had directly blocked the entrance to his hospital room.
It was utterly hopeless.
Still, today he had finally been permitted to move around freely inside Rhodes Island.
After lying in a hospital bed for several days, it was about time he got his body moving again.
"Seven in the morning... I should go get some breakfast first."
After getting out of bed, Shirou washed up, changed into Penguin Logistics' jacket, and decided on the first destination of his regained freedom.
He did not notify the others from Penguin Logistics, because the group had accepted a Rhodes Island commission yesterday and already departed.
Unlike last time, this time they had genuinely gone out on a mission. Apparently the Boss and Yith had discovered Rhodes Island's strengths and were already planning future collaborations.
Once his body recovered enough, he would probably return to Lungmen as well. They had been away from Lungmen for too long, and Penguin Logistics' headquarters was ultimately still there.
Especially when he had heard the Boss complaining over the phone while he was bedridden about not being able to find anyone to throw parties with and how boring it was, Shirou could not help but feel that he resembled some lonely elderly person living by herself.
As for how he knew...
Well, there was Fuji-nee's grandfather. Shirou had even received pocket money from him before.
And besides that...
There were also the dreams he had been having frequently these past few days.
Unlike before, these dreams did not make Shirou feel any discomfort.
If he really had to point something out, it would probably be that the dream contents themselves were not very pleasant for him.
That dragging sensation pulling him downward, and the heavy pressure weighing over his heart, had both disappeared.
Now, experiencing those dreams felt more like watching a movie.
Just like those four doors, it was simply seeing another Emiya Shirou's life from a different perspective.
Only this time, the fragments were much more scattered, with many disconnected pieces, almost like the riddles people on this land loved speaking in, making his blood pressure rise in irritation.
Aside from that, Shirou simply felt somewhat sorrowful.
That was still Emiya Shirou in the end, except that person had flown toward the flame called "ally of justice" and burned himself away completely.
Unlike the four previous sets of memories, Shirou could clearly distinguish the differences between himself and those four Emiya Shirous.
But perhaps because the source of these memories had been transmitted directly through magical energy, they felt far more immersive.
"Unlimited Lost Works..."
Walking down the corridor, Shirou softly murmured.
Although that was the chant, he still understood clearly that the essence of this Noble Phantasm remained Unlimited Blade Works.
Using bullets as a medium, it activated Unlimited Blade Works from inside the enemy's body, where countless blades would directly tear the target apart.
Its destructive power was immense, but ultimately it depended heavily on the user's eyesight and precision.
Nameless had undergone prolonged training, honing his analytical abilities to the extreme in order to locate enemies' weaknesses and destroy them.
Of course, if the opponent possessed magic circuits, analysis became even easier for him.
Fortunately, after using that Noble Phantasm, Shirou had already memorized the sensation.
With a bit of practice afterward, he would be able to master it.
For example, he was currently using it right now while observing his surroundings.
It felt rather interesting.
Walking along the way, Shirou soon arrived at the cafeteria.
Because he had been stuck in a hospital bed for quite a while, this time he filled his tray entirely with dishes he personally liked.
Holding the tray, finding a seat, eating food he enjoyed, savoring the freedom of moving around again, solving a problem that had been troubling him, and even obtaining a new method of using magecraft!
This was happiness four times over!
At this moment, Shirou was genuinely in an excellent mood.
Until someone sat down across from him.
"Judging by how you look, your recovery seems fairly good. In that case, we can conduct another diagnosis and evaluation of your condition later."
The newcomer was Kal'tsit.
Her breakfast was extremely simple: a sandwich and a cup of coffee that looked unbearably bitter.
She was also the person aboard Rhodes Island whom Shirou was the worst at dealing with.
Without question.
"Cough cough... Did we not just do a diagnosis yesterday?"
Suppressing the instant shock he felt upon seeing her with a dry cough, Shirou asked.
The moment he heard Kal'tsit's words, Shirou knew that all of today's happiness was gone.
Based on the descriptions passed around during this period, Kal'tsit did not seem like the type of person who joked around.
If she said she was going to conduct another diagnosis and evaluation, then she definitely meant she was going to conduct another full diagnosis and evaluation.
"Your eye color is pale gold right now. It is different from how it looked yesterday."
Although she noticed the startled expression on his face, Kal'tsit paid it no mind whatsoever.
She was already used to this sort of thing.
Her meaning was very simple.
There had been changes in Shirou's body, so conducting another diagnosis and evaluation was only reasonable, right?
"...I was testing something."
Hearing Kal'tsit's words, Shirou decisively released the magical energy, and his eyes returned to their original color.
Although perhaps it could not really be called their original appearance anymore.
If one looked carefully, they would notice that Shirou's eyes seemed slightly lighter in color than before.
"It makes no difference. In another two days, once Penguin Logistics finishes their mission, all of you will be returning to Lungmen. Since your condition is good right now, it is best to preserve the data while we can. You are not someone from this land, so I cannot guarantee whether our diagnostic methods might have unforeseen issues when applied to you."
Kal'tsit drank nearly half a cup of the unbearably bitter-looking coffee in one go without even furrowing her brow before continuing:
"And I already reminded you a few days ago to act more carefully and cautiously. So what exactly did you end up doing?"
"Uh... the situation was urgent, so please forgive me?"
Being stared at by her expressionless face still made Shirou somewhat uncomfortable, so after thinking for a moment, he gave that reply.
Though for some reason, after he said it, Shirou felt that her gaze had become even sharper.
"You should consider yourself fortunate. The only witnesses to you single-handedly crushing a Catastrophe were Rhodes Island operators and your teammates. To the people of this land, Catastrophes are nightmares made real. When most people see one, their first thought is despair, not trying to destroy it like you did."
Perhaps remembering that they were still in the cafeteria, Doctor Kal'tsit quickly returned to her usual expression before continuing:
"There have indeed been cases in Terra's history where people stopped Catastrophes, but in most situations, they eliminated them before they fully formed, strangling them in the cradle. Or they survived through the combined strength of a group... but you, although I did not witness the scale of the Catastrophe myself, defeating one alone with individual power... do you understand how serious that is?"
"..."
How should he put it?
Shirou felt slightly dizzy right now.
Of course, it was not because there was anything wrong with his body.
After using his Noble Phantasm that day, he had slept well and eaten well. Aside from a minor cold, he had never felt healthier.
The main issue was that Kal'tsit's way of speaking was far too long-winded and roundabout.
Every sentence required him to spend a little time mentally translating what she actually meant.
To simplify it...
She was basically saying that him destroying the Catastrophe was a very serious matter, but fortunately only Dobermann, the members of Reserve Op Team A1, and everyone from Penguin Logistics had witnessed it.
So for now, things were still safe?
But was it really that serious?
Why did it sound as though he had committed some terrible crime?
Was there really a need for all this?
"It seems you still do not understand the seriousness of the matter..."
Seeing the blank confusion on Shirou's face, Kal'tsit decisively entered lecture mode.
Fortunately, because they were in the cafeteria, this round of lecturing did not last very long.
Unfortunately, Shirou still had to report to her again later.
"Seriously..."
Listening to Kal'tsit's winding and lengthy explanations made Shirou's head start hurting again.
Still, he did not find her annoying or anything.
After all, she had also said that she had already handled most of the aftermath. As long as Shirou and the others from Penguin Logistics did not go around publicizing it, this matter would basically remain known only to herself, Amiya, the Penguin Logistics members present at the time, Dobermann, and Reserve Op Team A1.
Shirou was naturally happy with that arrangement.
He had never intended to make the matter widely known in the first place.
There was just one thing he found curious.
Kal'tsit was already extremely busy as the head of the medical department, yet she still had to deal with his issues as well...
No wonder she drank that kind of coffee.
Just smelling it was enough for Shirou to imagine how bitter it tasted.
The sort of drink that even Exusiai probably would not want, even after dumping an entire bag of sugar into it.
After tidying up a little, Shirou arrived at the medical department right on time.
Besides Kal'tsit, there was one other person present.
Amiya.
It felt like he had not seen her in quite a while.
Aside from the first couple of days after he arrived, when her work schedule had been relatively light and she had some free time, she had otherwise been spinning nonstop like a top.
If she were not Rhodes Island's CEO, Shirou genuinely would have suspected that Rhodes Island was severely lacking manpower.
Still...
Shirou had vaguely noticed something.
For certain matters, Kal'tsit's opinions still seemed to take priority, though it also looked like she intentionally wanted to train Amiya.
And Kal'tsit herself was extremely busy as well. He had heard that she once performed surgeries continuously for several days without rest.
So why exactly were two incredibly busy people both present for his physical examination?
Thankfully there were only two people.
If there were any more, Shirou would have started feeling awkward.
"I came to help Doctor Kal'tsit organize the records. Since you are a bit special, Shirou, a lot of the data needs to be preserved on paper instead of being uploaded onto Rhodes Island's servers."
When Amiya saw Shirou, she nodded and greeted him.
The last time she had seen him, he had just returned from the mission and was still unconscious.
She had been the one who arranged that mission in the first place.
Originally, she thought it would merely involve supporting another squad's operation, so the difficulty should not have been high...
She never expected unexpected complications to occur, which left her feeling somewhat guilty.
"I understand."
Hearing Amiya's explanation, Shirou simply nodded.
As for whether he truly understood or not, even he did not know.
Anyway, if they said that was how things worked, then that was how things worked.
Fortunately, this time it was only a simple examination.
He did not need to change into examination clothes and lie on top of a pile of machines.
Those instruments caused a certain degree of harm to the body during examination, so unless necessary, they normally would not be used repeatedly.
And what Kal'tsit called a diagnosis...
It felt more like a school health checkup instead.
It mostly consisted of measuring height, weight, eyesight, hearing, limb mobility, and checking for any problems with the bones and muscles.
The vast majority of it could be completed using simple instruments as assistance, and for the remaining parts, Kal'tsit's manual examination would not produce much error either.
Of course, there was one aspect of this diagnosis that was the most important of all.
The psychological evaluation.
However, Shirou himself did not know that.
After all, he had already shown resistance toward that area before, so Kal'tsit planned to gather some information through conversation later instead.
That was also the primary reason she had Amiya come along.
After all, a lot of information needed to be checked for truthfulness.
Who told Shirou to always act one way on the surface while thinking something completely different inside?
Through this incident, combined with most of his past in Lungmen, information regarding Nameless's history, and the countless people Kal'tsit had encountered throughout her long life, she was fully capable of piecing together what kind of person Shirou was.
An altruist.
People of this type always think about the happiness of others, and to a certain extent even consider other people's happiness more important than their own.
Although this ideology was regarded as a virtue, from a realistic perspective, such behavior merely increased other people's chances of survival while lowering their own.
Simply put, people like this did not live long.