Unlimited Blade Works of the Raging Dimension

The shocking explosion created a cloud of dust and mist, obscuring Shirou's vision. Esdeath in the distance had stopped making noise, as if she had been dealt with. However, Shirou showed no intention of relaxing and remained vigilant of his surroundings.

"I didn't expect you to have a trick like this. I'm genuinely becoming more interested in you."

Esdeath's voice echoed in his ears once more, and with it came massive ice spikes, their tips as sharp as blades, hurtling toward Shirou.

Shirou wasn't surprised. He vanished in an instant, rendering Esdeath's attack futile.

"Of course, a level like this can't do anything to you, the strongest in the empire."

"Don't underestimate me."

Esdeath stared warily at the man before her. The explosion had indeed caught her off guard. If she hadn't covered her body with a layer of ice in time, she might have suffered some damage. Although such an explosion wouldn't have killed her, it would have certainly left her looking disheveled and injured.

However, the more Shirou stood out, the greater Esdeath's interest in him became. She had rushed to the battlefield countless times to find an opponent she could enjoy. Yet, as one of the strongest in the empire, aside from the empire's top general, Budo, no one could match her. But Budo was a stubborn old man who wouldn't fight easily. As a result, Esdeath hadn't had a good fight in a long time. Now that she had encountered someone as strong as Shirou, her desire to fight grew even stronger.

With a wave of her right hand, hundreds of giant ice pillars shot toward Shirou, cutting off all his escape routes. The speed and power of these pillars far surpassed that of the previous ice spikes. Clearly, Esdeath was getting serious.

Faced with this situation, Shirou showed no signs of panic. He swung his twin swords, shattering the incoming ice one by one. The shattered ice fragments scattered around the light of his swords, but not a single shard could touch him.

'Not bad. How about this?'

Esdeath manipulated the ice once more, and sharp ice spikes grew from the fragments around Shirou, stabbing toward him at incredible speed.

At such close range and with such speed, an ordinary person would have been torn to pieces without even a chance to react. Unfortunately, Shirou was no ordinary person. He was a heroic spirit who had fought on countless battlefields.

Faced with this situation, Shirou didn't even change his movements. He continued to dance with his twin swords, making his entire defense as solid as a rock, and the ice spikes shattered into pieces.

However, at this moment, Esdeath appeared in the air directly above Shirou and snapped her fingers gently with her right hand.

A massive ice ball appeared right above Shirou like a meteorite and slammed down hard.

"Rho Aias."

The beautiful purple shield was projected once more, perfectly blocking the enormous chunk of ice.

When the ice made contact with the shield, it lasted less than five seconds before shattering into pieces.

But regardless, it was one of Esdeath's specialties, and its power was incomparable to her previous tentative skills.

Three layers of Rho Aias's defense were torn down, leaving only four layers remaining.

Esdeath watched this with a hint of surprise in her eyes, but she didn't slow down and charged toward Shirou again. The rapier in her hand left a sharp trail, but it was once again blocked by the twin swords in her opponent's hands.

But at this moment, an ice sword appeared in Esdeath's left hand and slashed toward Shirou once more.

*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*

In this dual-sword battle, the speed and strength of the two swords far exceeded that of ordinary people, and the clashing of blades was endless.

One was Esdeath, the strongest in the empire, who had risen from an imperial soldier to the rank of general and fought on thousands of battlefields.

The other was the Heroic Spirit Emiya, who had become a Heroic Spirit in human form, faced ancient heroes on the battlefield, and remained undefeated after thousands of battles.

This time, both stopped testing each other and fought with their true strength.

However, the situation slowly became clear. Shirou's strength was too low, while Esdeath's strength surpassed his. Although Shirou could cover the gap with his exceptional martial arts, now that Esdeath had given it her all, the gap between them slowly began to show.

Esdeath once again deflected the attack of her opponent's twin swords, turned, and kicked, pushing Shirou back, then quickly slashed several ice blades toward him.

"What? Have you reached your limit? I'm a little interested in you. If this is all you've got, then let me crush you. A pig should behave like a pig."

Though the taunting words reached his ears, a smile appeared at the corner of Shirou's mouth.

"It seems if I don't show my true abilities, you'll look down on me, Esdeath."

As he spoke, he swung his sword and effortlessly cut through the incoming ice blades.

"Be careful, don't die, Esdeath."

The release incantation of the two swords came from Shirou's mouth.

"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm."

Shirou threw the two swords in his hands toward Esdeath, leaving a mysterious trail in the air as they charged toward her.

"Our strength rips the mountain. Our swords split the water. Our names reach the imperial villa..."

Kanshou and Bakuya were projected out again, and four daggers were immediately thrown, attacking Esdeath from different directions. Yet Esdeath didn't panic. Instead, she effortlessly deflected the attacks from all four sides.

"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together."

Kanshou and Bakuya were projected for the third time, and the two swords in Shirou's hands suddenly emitted light! Instantly, the original short swords transformed into large long swords with blades covered in feather-like grooves!

"Triple-Linked Crane Wings!"

In an instant, Shirou charged toward Esdeath with the two swords in his hands. Esdeath showed no fear and countered with her own two swords.

However, something unexpected happened.

"What?!"

The rapier in her hand was split into pieces like tofu by Shirou's twin swords, and she couldn't even put up the slightest resistance.

Shirou didn't hesitate at all and slashed with both swords. As expected, Esdeath's Ice Sword was just like her rapier and couldn't withstand the Noble Phantasm released by its True Name. It was too close. Even Esdeath couldn't effectively handle such close combat, and now she could only resolve to die and see who wasn't afraid of death.

Esdeath clearly realized the situation and didn't take a defensive stance. Several ice spikes appeared around her body and shot toward Shirou.

If Shirou failed to react in time, both sides would suffer losses and perish together.

At such close range, no one would be able to react at all. Clearly, Esdeath's attack was meant to destroy both herself and her enemy.

However, Shirou was no ordinary person.

[Mind Eyes (True): B]

Insight developed through practice and training. A "battle theory" that allows you to calmly understand your own situation and the enemy's abilities when you are at a disadvantage, and find a way to survive. A rank of B means that even if there is only a 1% chance of a reversal, one can seize that opportunity and apply it tactically.

This skill gave him the means to avoid a lose-lose situation.