Chapter 166: SHINJI Meets EMIYA

"You're looking for... Shiro-san?" Shirou asked him.

"That's right. Do you know where he is?"

SHINJI was surprised as he asked that question randomly, but he attributed it to his aniki's insane luck.

"Well... He should be talking to his 'sister-in-law' in the field."

"I see. Th-"

SHINJI disappeared from his spot and blocked EMIYA's attack that was aimed to kill the defenseless Shirou. With the former's back facing him, SHINJI immediately did a roundhouse kick to force him to disengage.

Clang-!

The spear in his hands flexibly struck Kanshou away from EMIYA's hand, achieving the purpose of this unexpected counterattack. SHINJI lowered his stance as he readied to do a piercing attack towards him.

"EMIYA... No, this is confusing. Right, Archer." He spoke calmly. "From our meeting on Chaldea, I originally thought that you're the chill guy. Turns out, you're really different regarding Shirou-san."

"...Looks like you met me in a different timeline. Still..." EMIYA muttered the first line of his chant before he projected a bow and his arrow, Caladbolg II. "He has to die."

Boom-!

[Ichor: Eos—Imitation]!

Red aura covered SHINJI's spear swiftly as the Caladbolg II came in contact with it. EMIYA didn't become careless as he sent one Caladbolg II after another, in which SHINJI comes out unscathed as he charged forward to him.

Boom-! Boom-!

'Where did he-?!'

EMIYA's eyes darted around as his [Clairvoyance—C] became more evident. This ability of his, which enabled him to count the number of tiles of the Fuyuki bridge from a skyscraper... couldn't find SHINJI!

"..?!"

His danger senses rang out loud as he projected his twin blades and did a cross block. At the next moment...

Bam-!

A huge impact ran through him, pushing him back by dozens of steps. His projections cracked immediately until it slowly turned into light particles.

"Huff..."

EMIYA looked at the kid who was responsible for dealing such a strong blow to him. He knew that the kid in front of him is SHINJI, but there's something that sets the Shinji of the present and the SHINJI here.

If the former self's aura is that of a pathetic and useless person, the latter is someone who has self-confidence. It is not arrogance as it is shown that SHINJI is shrewd enough to disappear in the middle of their fight and deal that blow.

"You... I'm still not your match, huh." He muttered as he took out a [Restorative Potion (R)] and drank it. With that, SHINJI could feel that his lost aura reserves went back. "I'll have to do more training, then."

[Flash (Grand Knight)]!

[Ichor: Eos—Imitation]!

A sphere of bright white light appeared and blinded everyone except for EMIYA who saw it coming. The moment it died down, he is surprised once more to see SHINJI disappear without any prior notice.

'I'll have to use it.' He thought as he started chanting:

"I am the bone of my sword.

Steel is my body; fire is my blood

I have known ten thousand swords-"

BAM-!

He was pushed back once more, but the damage was less even though he only used Kanshou and Bakuya—the same as before.

"Unknown to death, nor known to life.

I have withstood so much pain to create these swords..."

"This is bad..!" SHINJI gritted his teeth as he tried to hit EMIYA's vital spots with a spear, but he ended with the same fate as Lancer during their first battle. Even though spears has an advantage in regards to length, EMIYA could perfectly read his moves due to his [Mind's Eye (True)—B], a testament to his rich combat experience.

Even though SHiNJI felt that something bad is about to happen, he couldn't stop it.

In fact, SHINJI had sparred with him often in Chaldea before. But, he's still being pushed into a stalemate!

"...will not hold anything. So as I pray..."

SHINJI took out his back up for diversion, the three micro bombs that he got from Kouzuki and threw it at EMIYA's face, but it is too late.

"Unlimited Blade Works!"

As someone with sharp senses, SHINJI felt his surroundings change to that of a wasteland. Clock gears littered the sky, telling him of the antiquity of the one he's facing. Countless swords are stabbed into the ground, as if this inner world is their own home.

Soon, he saw EMIYA unscathed and Rho Aias, the shield that stopped the thrown Durindana, Durandal's spear form, during the Trojan War. The conceptual weapon disappeared, but his wariness increased even more.

"A [Reality Marble]!" Rin exclaimed. "Archer, you..."

EMIYA had seemingly ignored her and focused on SHINJI and Shirou.

"If you know me, you must be familiar with this." He said.

Shinji nodded and replied:

"Unlimited Blade Works. Your [Reality Marble] that stores all the swords that you've seen in your entire life. You can record them just by looking, which is a monstrous talent. If you had more opportunities, then theoretically, you would've been able to project Divine Constructs easily."

"Just how much did I divulge to you..?" EMIYA went silent for a moment as he saw the familiarity that SHINJI has towards his trump card.

SHINJI smirked and said, "We trained like this everyday."

"SHINJI? Training? Those are two words that I wouldn't have expected to hear together."

While the two are conversing, Shirou is silently looking for an escape plan for him and Rin. Then, he realized something.

'If my feelings are correct...'

He focused on one of the swords stabbed in the ground. The next moment, he managed to easily project it in his hand. EMIYA saw this accidental discovery of Shirou, hence he didn't wait for more time and attacked.

"I won't let you!"

Sou-! Sou-!

Clang-! Clang-!

Ding-! Ding-!

Every flying swords that aimed for Shirou was deflected by by SHINJI. Although, he noticed that the durability of his [Ice Spear (SR)] began dropping.

Fortunately, someone offered to help him at this moment.

"SHINJI, I'll help."

"Emiya-kun?"

BAM-!

BAM-!

BAM-!

Three projected swords intercepted the others before it exploded, taking all of them down in the process.

"Oh? You mastered it already? As expected, I already brought changes in this world just by existing..." EMIYA murmured as he himself decided to clash against them.

"This is not the weapon that I'm very used to, but there's no choice."

SHINJI placed his precious [Ice Spear] back in his [Dimensional Storage]. Then, he pulled out a different weapon, a black pillar that shone mystic light.

It might be unfamiliar to others, but it is an origin of a very popular item, the stone monkey Sun Wukong's [Ruyi Jingu Bang].

It is used by Emperor Yu to measure the depth of the great flood, hence its name:

[Flood Ruler (SSR)].

The thin black staff began to enlarge, to the point that Shinji could barely hold it with his two hands under the support of several magecraft from Roman as well as the [Old World Fighting Suit (SR)].

Though, this magical process only took a few seconds.

"Hup!'

EMIYA's danger sense activated once more, allowing him to barely dodge the 50-meter long staff. He tried to analyze its composition but found something hindering his scan.

SHINJI's attack isn't over yet as he swept the staff to EMIYA's direction, in which the latter bent backwards to avoid it. He then grasped it to stand up and gain the momentum to leap towards Shirou.

The black staff glowed and emitted an ancient aura before it turned into a phantom of a great flood, pushing EMIYA backwards for a dozen meters.

Surprisingly, he projected hundreds of swords while he flew away.

BAM-!

Both SHINJI and Shirou managed to come out slightly injured, but their expressions became bad as they saw EMIYA holding the unconscious Rin under his shoulder.

"Damn!"

SHINJI activated his [Knight Domain] mixed with [Pancosmic Loner (UR)] and enveloped EMIYA's location, using it to appear right in front of them. However, he was greeted with projected swords, preventing him from attacking EMIYA for a second.

Still, the one responsible for the rescue isn't him, but Shirou.

"Tohsaka!"

Shirou suddenly appeared behind EMIYA's back, with the twin blades pointed at him. Due to the sudden appearance of Shirou behind him, his combat experiences didn't immediately activate. In the first place, it was nothing but empty air a moment ago. Only when SHINJI used his strange move did he surprise him.

Left with no choice, EMIYA dropped down Rin to avoid the attack that was about to come in contact with him. If he didn't do so, he would've lost his arm.

"Tch. I'll be coming back for you."

In the end, [Unlimited Blade Works] disappeared without a trace together with EMIYA, leaving SHINJI and Shirou behind.