21 Chapter 20: Shirou vs Voban

While the two Italian mages were trying to make sense of what they had just seen, Shirou's footsteps on the ground rang out as he advanced toward Voban. His court stepped aside to leave Shirou and unhindered path to Voban. Once Shirou reached 10 meters from Voban, he stopped again and spoke.

"I believe a more fitting battlefield than this street is necessary. Allow me to correct that."

Shirou raised his left arm till it was horizontal with his shoulder. Then Shirou spoke, and everyone there felt the power of his words.

"My body is made out of swords

My blood is of iron and my heart of glass

I have overcome countless battlefields

I never have and never will retreat

I walk this path without fear, for I am not alone

Though the path is difficult, we will endure no hardship

There is no need for regret, for this path is our choice

Thus bring forth the Unlimited Blade Works"

At the end of his words, a flash of light blinded everyone present. Their reactions when they regained their sight were split into two groups.

Shirou, his court, and Yuri had no external reaction to the Unlimited Blade Works. Shirou and his court knew what to expect from experience, while Illya had told Yuri about her brother's trump card once, although Yuri admitted that her description did not do it justice.

Everyone else was freaking out. Nearly all of them were confused as to what authority could create this world. Only Voban realized the truth about the world and like with Nyx, the truth baffled him.

"Confused, Voban?" Shirou's voice was heard clearly in the silence.

Everyone turned to look at Shirou. While Godou's family and the Italian mages' eyes were drawn to the statues of Shirou's companions, both Voban's and Godou's gazes were locked to the sword right next to Shirou.

Both Voban and Godou felt the same reaction from the sword: fear. But it was on a scale unlike anything they felt before. Godou had lived much of the previous month in fear, but nothing even close to this scale. Voban had almost forgot what fear felt like over the centuries, but not even the fear of starving that was one of his earliest companions could compare to what he was feeling now.

"What is that sword, boy?" Try as he did, Voban couldn't keep the fear out of his voice.

Shirou's voice rang out once more, almost lazily this time, "for you, the cost of your next strike. For Godou, the price of his third strike. Just know that my owning this sword is the reason Pandora has named me the strongest Campione, even taking into account our 290 dead adopted siblings."

Shirou stretched out his arm as his words sunk in and a large red sword appear in his hand, "for now, you need to be taught your place, Voban. Am I going to spank you like a brat or smash you like a man?"

Voban was livid. He had NEVER been treated like that since he became a Campione. To be treated this way by someone less than one-tenth of his own age to boot...

"GGGGGRRRRRRAAAAAAA," Voban howled in fury as he transformed into a giant werewolf and charged at Shirou.

Shirou watched Voban charge at him, "manifesting an avatar, courtesy of Phoebus. Powerful, deadly, the type of authority chosen when filled with rage." Voban blood ran cold upon hearing what Shirou said and then he noticed the sword in Shirou's hand. When he first saw it, he thought it wasn't worthy of notice. But now his instincts screamed out, nowhere near to the level of the sword in the ground, but higher than the average heretic god.

Before Voban could react, Shirou moved in a viciously primal way and Voban was sent flying backward in his human form with a massive cut on his chest. Voban thoughts raced at max speed, "how can this boy be so strong? He beat me last time because I underestimated him massively, I admit that. But the boy should be too young to push me back or dispel my avatar this easily. Just who are you, Shirou Emiya?"

Shirou looked at the sword in his hand, "so the wolf runs from the Hound of the Red Plains. Oh well," embedding the sword in the ground. A black bow appeared in Shirou's left hand and a spiral sword in his right. He took aim and before shooting Voban, he chanted an aria,

"My core is twisted in madness, Caladbolg"

The spiral sword shot from Shirou's bow toward Voban and he barely got his arms in a defensive pose in front of himself before Caladbolg struck him. After coming to a stop from being sent flying, Voban noticed that he couldn't feel his arms and saw that they had been burn pitch black.

"It appears that once again I have underestimated you," Voban voice was heard clearly by everyone present, "but this fight isn't over yet."

"You couldn't be more wrong if you tried Voban. This fight was over before it even began. By the time I arrived, the dominoes were all in place. Now all that is left is waiting for them all to fall." Shirou's voice was heard by everyone, but for Voban, Shirou's words chilled him to his core.

"He couldn't mean..." Voban's thoughts raced as Shirou's words rang through his head once more.

"...the type of authority chosen when filled with rage..."

"...so the wolf runs from the Hound of the Red Plains..."

"He couldn't be saying..."

"Yes I am saying that Voban. I have predicted your every action and you cannot do anything to change the out come I have chosen." Shirou's voice interrupted Voban's thoughts and he felt his blood run cold.

If Shirou's truly could contact Pandora at will, a rumor that Voban initially dismissed, then he likely knew all of the authorities of all the other Campione. Shirou clearly planned ahead and it was likely he knew ways to counter all of his authorities. He already demonstrated that he could beat them without using authorities twice so Voban's large arsenal of authorities probably served little purpose here.

Shirou could also pierce his magic resistance without using an authority. This means that Shirou would burn through energy slower than Voban would, even taking maintenance of this world into account. Out of all the Campione currently alive, Shirou was also the one with the largest magic reservoir to boot. He was an average magic user before becoming Campione, and the process had boosted his raw ability to unimaginable heights. Most of the other Campione, Voban himself included, had next-to-none in the magical department if not none at all before becoming Campione.

The more Voban thought, the more he realized that he knew almost nothing about Shirou's capabilities. He knew Shirou was very strong, even for a Campione, and used weapons created using magic but that was about it. Everything else was either rumor or his own guesses. The lack of knowledge he had on Shirou disturbed Voban even more.

When Voban once again took notice of the world around him, Shirou stood right in front of him, a strange dagger in his hand.

"Try to relax. The more you struggle, the greater the damages will be." After those words, Shirou rammed the dagger straight into Voban's chest. The next thing Voban knew was pain. On a level he never knew was possible.