The moment he realized something was wrong, Shirou began to think.
There was no way he would suddenly feel that something was off for no reason. There had to be something he had overlooked...
An empty residential complex, abandoned high-rises, unstable buildings, criminal groups, and... the explosives they had made from smuggled Originium gunpowder.
"They are not planning to blow up this building, are they?"
After putting together most of the pieces, Shirou's first conclusion was that they intended to use explosives to bring down the building beneath his feet, preventing him from continuing to snipe their companions.
How else could he explain so much malice?
Boom—
Boom—Boom—
As though confirming Shirou's suspicion, several deafening explosions erupted from below. Immediately afterward, he felt the building beneath his feet begin to shake.
"They are actually blowing it up? They really are not afraid of dying?"
The instant the building started trembling, Shirou steadied himself before speaking with exasperation.
The shockwaves caused by a collapsing high-rise were enormous. One mistake, and the people setting off the explosives could easily be buried along with it. Even so, they had still chosen to demolish the building.
"If it is only this much, reinforcement magecraft should be enough to handle it... Huh?"
While maintaining his balance, Shirou considered his next move.
He was not particularly worried. After all, Rosemontis had once thrown him down from an even greater height with all her strength, and he had survived. There was no way a fall from fewer than a dozen stories would seriously threaten him.
However, it was obvious that he had been far too optimistic about these people.
He could clearly see the much taller building nearby beginning to lean toward him.
A quick glance to the side also revealed that the surrounding buildings were collapsing as well, caught up in the destruction.
"So they are making sure I cannot survive, are they?"
Seeing the situation, Shirou immediately abandoned his original plan of relying solely on reinforcement magecraft to endure it.
There was a significant difference between falling from the top of a building and having an entire skyscraper collapse on top of him. Shirou had no desire to discover where his limits lay.
At the very least, he did not want to find out in this way.
"Shirou?"
Because Shirou had not described what was happening on site, and because all the nearby drones had been reassigned elsewhere, Yith had no idea what was occurring.
However, judging from the explosions and Shirou's nonstop complaints, the situation was clearly not looking good.
After redirecting a few of the nearest drones back toward Shirou, Yith finally saw the scene.
Several nearby high-rises, including the one Shirou was standing on, were on the verge of collapse, and every one of them was tilting toward Shirou's location.
This was even worse than the worst-case scenario he had imagined.
"It is fine. It is not a big problem... probably."
At that moment, Shirou had no spare attention to explain anything to Is. Instead, his mind raced as he frantically searched for a solution.
Reinforcement magecraft was no longer an option. Projecting a grappling hook... there was nowhere left for it to latch onto.
Should he project a Noble Phantasm first and destroy the taller building?
That would at least reduce part of the danger, but the risk would still remain. Furthermore, the aftermath of unleashing a Noble Phantasm would very likely trigger even more collapses among the surrounding buildings.
What about using the sul—sugana.
No. Unlike Rosemontis, he did not possess the ability to plant such a massive sword firmly into the ground and use it to withstand the impact.
Simply put, if he projected either the Ig-Alima or the Sul-Sugana, there was a very real chance that the collapsing buildings would bury both him and the enormous blade together.
Originally, he had roughly a thirty percent chance of escaping completely unharmed. After projecting one of those swords, the odds would instead become a ninety percent chance of suffering severe injuries.
And that was with his Mystic Code equipped.
No... he did not necessarily have to remain here. If he used the Ig-Alima or the Sul-Sugana as a new foothold to leave the collapse zone...
Still no.
Even with a grappling hook, there was no way he could jump farther than the area the collapsing buildings would cover. In the end, the Mountain-Cleaving Sword would still lose its support and topple over like a domino.
Then was there any way for him to travel from here to a safe location in the distance within a very short time?
"...!"
The moment that thought appeared, everything suddenly became clear.
"I never expected that Blaze's proposed improvement would be something I would get to test first."
As he muttered to himself, Shirou projected a grappling hook and the Caladbolg. He wrapped one end of the rope around the projected sword, then projected a Rhodes Island tactical vest, put it on, and secured the grappling line to it.
This had been an idea Blaze proposed back when they were at Rhodes Island.
The inspiration came from the weight and range of the Caladbolg. If one end of a rope were tied to the sword's hilt and the other end attached to a person, would it be possible to fire the sword with a bow and send the person flying along with it?
The idea had been rejected almost immediately.
The reason was simple. Under normal circumstances, the human body could never withstand the tremendous acceleration, while both the rope and the clothing would almost certainly be torn apart instantly. As a result, the proposal had been shelved.
Although everyone else had dismissed the concept, Shirou knew it was entirely feasible. The problem was simply that it faced nearly the same limitations.
After all, that was exactly how he had launched himself from the ground to the top of the building to deal with the enemy earlier. At the time, he had wrapped the grappling line around his arm, and even over that short distance, the strain had left his right arm with a noticeable injury.
Even with reinforcement magecraft enhancing him, his arm had still been injured. If it had been anyone else... Shirou estimated that the only thing flying away would have been their hand.
That was why he had ultimately decided not to tell Blaze that the idea was actually feasible. Otherwise, she would certainly have pestered him until he let her try it.
However, Blaze had not given up. Instead, she started working on ways to solve the problems.
The issue of the human body being unable to withstand the impact was simply a matter of physics. If the pulling force were concentrated at a single point, no human body could survive that instantaneous shock. That was where a specially designed tactical vest came in.
This piece of equipment was normally used during cave exploration or disaster rescue operations. A person would wear it while being lifted by a mechanical cable, allowing the force to be distributed across the body instead of concentrating on one point.
As for the rope, that was even simpler.
Shirou's grappling hook already came with exactly such a cable.
Perfect.
The theory was sound, but Amiya and the other elite operators had all rejected the proposal.
And now, here he was.
Even Shirou himself had never expected that he would be the first to test this improved method of transportation.
"Straight into the enemy headquarters!"
From the moment inspiration struck to the time he had projected every piece of equipment and put it on, fewer than a few seconds had passed. With everything ready, all that remained was to choose his destination.
Running away was never an option.
Shirou had no intention of giving these people a chance to catch their breath or escape, so he decisively chose to charge straight into the heart of the enemy's base.
He nocked Caladbolg onto his bow, drew the string to its full length, aimed at his destination, and released.
The next instant, a tremendous pulling force yanked his body forward, sending him hurtling through the air toward his target.
This trip was much farther than his earlier launch from the ground to the rooftop, and this time he was traveling horizontally.
Even with thorough preparation and reinforcement magecraft strengthening his body, the violent acceleration instantly reminded Shirou of the night Berserker had split him open with an axe.
There was no time to dwell on old memories, however.
Caladbolg flew incredibly fast.
He also had to account for inertia, so he needed to withdraw the magical energy sustaining all of his projected equipment in advance. Otherwise, he would neither land safely nor prevent Caladbolg from causing damage elsewhere.
"Now!"
The fierce wind forced Shirou to squint as he judged his position.
The moment he felt he was close enough, he decisively dismissed Caladbolg, the grappling hook, and the tactical vest.
The instant the pulling force disappeared, his body dropped rapidly in a parabolic arc.
"Trace, on—!"
While falling, Shirou projected Kanshou and Bakuya, throwing one of the paired blades ahead of him.
The moment both swords struck the ground, they detonated, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.
The explosion was nothing more than a precaution to test whether the landing zone had been rigged with traps.
The last thing Shirou wanted was to land safely only to be blown into the air again immediately afterward.
After landing without incident, he used the dust cloud created by the Broken Phantasm explosion as cover, gripped one of the blades in his right hand, and sprinted deeper inside.
"...I never expected things would end with me going back to the most primitive solution after all."
Watching through the drones' live feeds, Yith naturally knew that Shirou had reached the enemy's territory in his own unique way.
Although he understood the basic principles behind it, seeing it with his own eyes still felt absurd.
He had seen people use Originium Arts or specialized tactical equipment to perform long-distance leaps.
But drawing one's own bow and using it to drag oneself through the air...
Among everyone he knew, only Shirou would do something like that.
Still, it was not the first time he had witnessed it, so Yith quickly set the matter aside and focused on their next course of action.
There was no need to spend much effort thinking.
The current situation was still within his expectations.
The only difference was that, instead of proactively attacking after noticing something was wrong, they had been forced into taking the offensive.
The difference was minimal. A few adjustments to the finer details would be enough.
"As long as it works, that is all that matters, right?"
Shirou had little interest in complaining about the situation.
After all, he had only just escaped a rather dangerous predicament.
His mind was still in a strangely detached, almost enlightened state, leaving him with absolutely no desire to make sarcastic remarks.
Right now, he was a pragmatist.
He no longer cared whether his tactics lacked elegance or whether they were repetitive.
At this moment, all he wanted was to finish dealing with everything as quickly as possible, return home, and collapse onto his bed for a well-earned rest.
"True enough. You are right. By the way, would you like to hear some good news?"
Shirou was not the only one who wanted to rest.
Yith felt exactly the same way.
"Do not speak in riddles. My head already hurts."
Leaning against a piece of cover, Shirou mercilessly rejected the guessing game Yith was about to start.
"All right. The Lungmen Guard Department has arrived nearby. Assuming nothing unexpected happens, they should reach you even sooner than we originally estimated. After all, you just sent them quite an unforgettable signal."
Seeing Shirou's obvious impatience, Yith found it completely understandable.
In fact, the Shirou who remained polite and easygoing after working nonstop all day was the real anomaly in his eyes.
He had been monitoring the Guard Department's movements the entire time.
After all, hacking into their communications system was hardly something he had never done before. Besides, since he was currently assisting the Guard Department's operation, he felt even less guilty about doing it now.
As for how he knew they were almost there despite only having access to their communications...
The collapse of the buildings and Shirou's spectacular stunt had triggered no shortage of astonished exclamations over the radio.
Chief among them was Officer Chen, who let out a particularly colorful Lungmen curse before ordering everyone to increase their pace toward the objective.
"...That is good. If they had taken much longer, things would have become troublesome."
Hearing Yith's report, Shirou let out a small sigh of relief.
"What do you mean? Did something happen?"
On the other end, Yith suddenly became tense.
The drones were continuously feeding him live footage from the battlefield, and based on everything he had seen, Shirou should have had little difficulty dealing with everyone there.
However, Shirou's next sentence left him completely speechless.
"Nothing. It is just that I do not really feel like thinking right now. My head is full of ideas about using a Noble Phantasm or Caladbolg to level this entire place."
Yith: "..."
"Then it really is a good thing they got here when they did. And Shirou, remember to stay calm. I do not want to have to bail you out of the Guard Department again before the New Year."
At that moment, Yith gained an entirely new understanding of what Shirou was like after being overworked.
Then again, that was not entirely accurate.
Judging from the combat records he had reviewed from Ursus, even after fighting countless enemies for an entire day, Shirou had never become this irritable.
It was more accurate to say that this group had been exceptionally aggravating. They had staged one ridiculous spectacle after another, leaving Shirou's already frayed nerves stretched to their limit.
Or perhaps there was some other factor involved.
In that brief instant, countless possibilities crossed Yith's mind, though he merely filed them away for later consideration.
Right now, his priority was making sure Shirou did not act on impulse and let everyone experience the warmth of an explosion powered by something other than gunpowder.
He also still had to clean up the battlefield and guide the Guard Department officers in, lest the reinforcements accidentally stepped on a trap and got themselves killed.
If that happened, all the cleanup afterward would fall on him and Shirou.
"I was joking. Do not get so worked up."
From Yith's tone of voice, Shirou could clearly hear the tension.
It left him rather speechless.
Was his credibility really that low?
If he had actually intended to carpet-bomb the area with Noble Phantasms, he would have done it long ago.
Using one now would only place himself within the blast radius as well.
"I am simply trying to prevent my workload from increasing," Yith replied.
"If you say so."
Shirou clearly did not believe him, but there was no point pressing the issue. It was better to leave a little room for doubt than corner someone with absolutes.
Sheltering behind cover, Shirou was not spending all his time chatting with Yith.
While taking the opportunity to catch his breath, he also activated Structural Analysis magecraft to examine the surrounding terrain.
As he analyzed the area, he also searched for any hidden enemies or traps nearby.
"Hm? These people are no joke. They actually managed to get their hands on one of those."
He did not find any traps.
Instead, he discovered something even more remarkable.
Although it was some distance away, making the feedback from his analysis magecraft somewhat vague, the object's outline clearly included something resembling rotor blades.
The answer was obvious.
It was a helicopter.
Or, more accurately, some kind of aerial vehicle.
Someone as battle-hardened as Shirou was hardly going to gape in amazement at the sight of a flying vehicle.
However, the fact that one had appeared here revealed a great deal.
Had it flown in from outside the city?
Or had it been assembled somewhere within Lungmen?
Whichever was true, neither possibility boded well for the Guard Department or for Lungmen's public security.
More importantly, there were people gathered around the aircraft.
Judging from their activity, they were clearly preparing to board it and escape.
That also explained why a group of people had suddenly resorted to a suicidal demolition of the buildings around his previous position.
Even if they failed to kill him, forcing him off his sniping position would be enough.
That way, the others could board the aircraft and flee.
It was a beautiful plan.
Reality, however, was far less accommodating.
The moment Shirou imagined the expressions on their faces when he made his move, the exhaustion from an entire day's work seemed to vanish.
In an instant, he felt completely refreshed.