Chapter 509: Emiya Kiritsugu Reappears

Kuzuki Soichiro and Caster Medea, perhaps because they were too weak, had no Reincarnators choose to join their faction.

At this moment, the two of them were just quietly watching Bai Cangshu, who had stepped into the Barrier alone.

"I had assumed the first one to enter would be Saber."

The woman's voice revealed a deep sense of regret.

A dagger-like Noble Phantasm appeared in her hand, and intense Magic Power radiated from it.

"I advise you not to do that."

Bai Cangshu caught Kuzuki Soichiro's movements in his peripheral vision; this man, who had not said a word, had his arms hanging at his sides, seemingly prepared to attack at any moment.

But unfortunately, Bai Cangshu was not a Master like Tohsaka Rin or Emiya Shirou, and certainly not a Saber lacking a supply of Magic Power.

He was a Martial Artist, and he had an overwhelmingly superior Adaptation to those who relied on taijutsu and close-quarters combat, like Kuzuki Soichiro and Sasaki Kojiro.

Moreover, Bai Cangshu considered himself a Martial Artist who could likely reach the level of an average Servant based solely on his physical destructive power and martial arts level.

Even with the influence of this Magic Barrier, the time consumed to kill Kuzuki Soichiro instantly would not be long.

Kuzuki Soichiro's Footwork faltered; he felt a sharp, intense stinging sensation beneath his neck, but the next moment, he continued walking toward his target.

He was a person who had lost all meaning, as empty as a doll; before he found Medea, he had assumed his whole life would be like this.

But since he had promised to win the Holy Grail War for Medea, then even if he died in battle, it would ultimately have a shred of meaning.

The man's resolve was clear, and Medea seemed to perceive it too; she looked at the Assassin, whose mouth was slowly curling into an arc, and her heart suddenly sank.

A scene seemed to appear in her mind: in the next moment, Master Kuzuki Soichiro would be blasted to death by the opponent's punch, leaving only his lower body standing in the arena.

"Wait!"

Medea spoke hastily, raising her head; on the face beneath her robe, the ambition of the great witch was gone, leaving only the worry and pallor of a young girl.

Kuzuki Soichiro's figure froze; he had somehow flashed to Bai Cangshu's side, his arms whipping up eerily like two long snakes, stopping just in front of Bai Cangshu's neck.

He turned his head to look at Medea, not understanding why she had called for a stop; Bai Cangshu was only smiling and had no intention of making any move, yet Medea could clearly feel that intense inclination.

As long as she did not stop it, the next moment, the opponent would throw a side-swing punch and directly blast Kuzuki Soichiro to death.

"What do you want?"

Kuzuki Soichiro did not understand; it was clearly his own fist poised before the opponent's neck, and it would only take one strike to shatter the opponent's cervical spine.

But looking at Medea's reaction, it was as if he had become the hostage used to threaten her.

"Join our alliance, Medea; that way, Kuzuki Soichiro can live."

Kuzuki Soichiro's numb expression shifted slightly; his prediction was not wrong, he had indeed become a hostage of this Assassin, dragging Medea down.

In this instant, Kuzuki Soichiro wanted to attack the opponent directly.

But Medea stopped him with a sharp cry.

"No!"

"I beg you, Soichiro!"

"Don't die, please don't die!"

The aura of the great witch was gone, leaving only a girl afraid of losing someone.

Seeing Medea like this, Bai Cangshu felt a bit bored; it was no wonder that in almost every storyline, even if they gained some initial advantage, the combination of Caster Medea—who summoned a Servant herself—and the "strongest class, Teacher Kuzuki Soichiro" basically always suffered a swift and miserable defeat.

Compared to those other combinations, these two truly had weaknesses that were too obvious.

Being too concerned about each other only made them burdens to one another.

Bang!

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Medea and Kuzuki Soichiro were both startled, but Bai Cangshu suddenly snapped his head, his neck appearing as if it had been twisted and broken.

That bullet flew past the spot where Bai Cangshu's head had originally been.

【Killing Intent Perception】.

This equipment effect, which had gradually lost its utility ever since Bai Cangshu acquired 【Heart Net】, was now demonstrating its effect once again.

After forcing Medea to give up her resistance, he had felt a killing intent locked firmly onto his temple.

He was very familiar with that sensation; Bai Cangshu had been locked onto by others in this way no fewer than a hundred times.

That was a firearm.

And in this world, as a magus accustomed to fighting with firearms, he was also very clear that this was likely Emiya Kiritsugu, who for some reason had not died.

Bang!

Bang!

Two more shots rang out, but Bai Cangshu took a step, his figure already moving over dozens of meters, leaving behind afterimages like a Ghost.

Only now did Kuzuki Soichiro understand that the opponent had not been unresponsive to his attack, but that the opponent's speed was so fast that he could confidently allow his hand to be mere centimeters from his neck and still kill him without taking any damage.

Medea immediately stepped in front of Kuzuki Soichiro.

"Master Soichiro, it's that guy underground..."

Kuzuki Soichiro was also silent; Emiya Kiritsugu should have been sealed underground, so how could he suddenly appear here?

No, whether the current Emiya Kiritsugu was still the original 【person】 was something he was no longer certain of.

Medea was quick-witted; she had sensed before that group entered the mountain that Emiya Kiritsugu's adopted son was among the arrivals.

"If we dispel the Barrier now, it will likely cause this group to fall into a certain amount of chaos."

Bang!

Before she could finish her sentence, a figure had already been blasted into the wall.

She turned her head, only to see the Servant confirmed as Assassin Tao Baibai standing tall in place, while a corner of Ryudou Temple had already been blasted into rubble.

Zzz—

At this moment, the Magic Barrier flickered, and the next moment it was pierced by several gems; Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou finally crossed the mountain gate's Barrier and arrived at the stone plaza.

"Teacher Kuzuki..."

Kuzuki Soichiro is a colleague of Tengmura Taiga and also a teacher, and he has always resided at Ryudou Temple, but his appearance here at this very moment clearly cannot be explained by mere coincidence.

Having arduously broken through the Magic Barrier, Tohsaka Rin immediately yanked Emiya Shirou, and with a wave of her hand, the Heroic Spirit Emiya and Saber had both arrived before them.

After Tao Baibai entered the Barrier, they suddenly discovered the mountain gate was sealed and they were completely unable to enter, also realizing that the Master and Servant here likely wanted to separate them and defeat them one by one.

After swiftly breaking the Barrier, they discovered that the scene they had imagined of Assassin battling Caster had not occurred.

Qiu Luo, meanwhile, searched for Tao Baibai's figure at the first opportunity; the next moment, he froze, seeing a familiar black-haired man rising from the ruins, with a mass of granulation tissue constantly moving and beginning to regenerate on his somewhat tattered shoulder.

"This is... Emiya Kiritsugu?!"

Emiya Shirou also stared at that figure, stunned in place.

Whine!

Intense Qi whistled, and the next moment it directly pierced through Emiya Kiritsugu's brow.

Pfft!

The head exploded like a balloon, and Emiya Shirou felt as if his vision had been dyed red in an instant, staring blankly as his adoptive father slowly collapsed once again.

He turned his head bit by bit, the Magic Circuits within his body seeming to light up little by little, and as if by instinct, a long sword had already begun to appear in his hand.

"You... Tao Baibai... you actually..."

He spoke incoherently, his Footwork moving uncontrollably toward Tao Baibai.

(End of chapter)