Chapter 570: A New Noble Phantasm?

Shinji's sudden assault was swift, sharp, and unexpected, executed with a speed and angle that even the most professional assassins would highly praise.

However, for Shirou, who had mastered both the sword and body movement to the highest level, this attack was still just a bit lacking.

Shirou, though startled, did not panic. He instinctively took a step back, moving out of the scythe's range while still having time to comment:

"Impressive, impressive. I didn't expect you could launch such an attack. Maybe if you try a few more times, you could hurt me—but how many more times can your body endure this?"

"Until you die!"

As Shirou spoke, Shinji did not pause for a moment, relentlessly pursuing using his scythe, while the Azure Cloud Sword above his head continued to emit black wind and flames. Just as he had said at the beginning, he wanted to kill this bastard in front of him to avenge Justeaze.

"Oh? Then I must see how your battered body will—hmm?"

Halfway through his sentence, Shirou fell silent because he noticed that the wounds on Shinji's exposed skin had somehow stopped bleeding, and the skin around the wounds had turned purplish-red, with a tendency to darken further. The cut that had pierced from his back to his chest also diminished as the purple color deepened, eventually vanishing.

"Is this—self-healing?"

A deep curiosity flashed in Shirou's eyes.

In the world of mysticism, nothing is impossible. Many special magecraft and talents can achieve such effects, the most famous being vampires. However, even among vampires, those who could heal this quickly were few and far between.

"Interesting. How exactly are you doing this? Was some ability added during your incarnation? Is it a special relic? Or some secret technique that requires a great price?"

Whether he was asking Shinji or just talking to himself, Shirou's chatter did not slow his actions. Without the suppression of the Gaze of the Medusa, his sword swings and movements returned to their original level. His mind, technique, and body, along with his eyes, hands, and body, reached a high degree of unity, making every move he made flow with a strange harmony.

Whether stepping back to dodge, sidestepping, or raising his sword to block, Shirou intercepted all of Shinji's fierce attacks.

Moreover, between the scythe's swings and retractions, Shirou's katana always found those brief openings, adding several more wounds to Shinji in no time.

Shinji seemed indifferent to these wounds, as if he had just been bitten by ants, and continued his offensive, focused on killing his target.

In contrast, Shirou's expression grew increasingly serious. From his face, it seemed like he was the one at a disadvantage.

"No, it's not just self-healing."

Shirou could feel that as the battle progressed, Shinji's magical power, attack strength, and movement speed were all noticeably increasing, especially after he was injured then the rate of increase would significantly spike.

This completely defied common sense. Any self-healing ability required a certain price, such as magical power, vitality, or some other force. Even perfect vampires, known as the True Ancestors, were no exception.

But Shinji was different. Not only did his wounds heal without any loss of strength, but his overall power was being amplified. The only ability that fit this description, Shirou could think of, was:

"The Crying Warmonger?"

The reason it was a question and not a certainty was that after Shinji's incarnation, he was no longer a Servant, and Shirou's Ruler privilege couldn't see his information.

Shinji remained silent, his attacks growing stronger, each strike infused with power exceeding A-rank. Even with Shirou's technique integrated into his instincts, his arms began to feel numb, and his blocks and counterattacks started to decrease.

"Swallow Reversal!"

With a masterful footwork technique, Shirou once again maneuvered to Shinji's side. At that moment, the dimensions twisted, and a single slash from three different directions simultaneously struck Shinji's body, creating three wounds that spanned his entire back and thigh.

However, this time, Shinji did not fall. As soon as the blood sprayed out, the surrounding muscles began to wriggle rapidly, sealing the severed blood vessels almost instantly. Sensing the magical power flowing from the wounds, Shirou finally confirmed his suspicion.

"As expected, it's Spartacus' Noble Phantasm. But he has long been out of the picture. How could you—? No, just knowing the true nature of your healing ability is enough."

As the mastermind behind that earth-shattering explosion, how could Shirou not know how to deal with Spartacus?

Against this ever-growing, self-destructive human bomb, the best method was to kill quickly, not giving him a chance to accumulate and evolve.

Taking a deep breath, Shirou's figure became a blur.

In the next instant, he was behind Shinji, hands gripping his sword in a Chūdan-no-kamae stance, beginning to step forward.

At this moment, the image and aura Shinji could capture still lingered the moment Shirou took his breath. This was the highest level of "Shukuchi"—"Reduced Earth(Ground Shrink)," followed by the ultimate fusion of the katana and Shukuchi.

The first step was light, just a tiny movement, but only after the second step landed did the sound of the first step reach the ears.

After the second step, Shirou was only a room's width away from Shinji. The third step that followed would close the distance to zero, and the katana would simultaneously execute three thrusts, causing a localized event casualty, destroying Shinji's heart before his healing ability could instantly repair it.

This was true—"One step surpasses sound, two steps leave no gap, three steps absolute blade!"

However, just as the third step was about to land, and the terrifying killing sword was about to strike, an unexpected change occurred.

The spot Shirou had chosen for the third step suddenly became covered in dense black shadows, which quickly grew into sharp spikes as his foot descended.

In a split second, Shirou forcibly halted his thrust, using his katana to push off the ground, narrowly avoiding the fate of having his feet pierced by the spikes.

Upon landing, Shirou's gaze became unprecedentedly severe.

"The Extreme Punishment King, no, it's the Bloodstained King!"

Given the precedent of the Crying Warmonger, Shirou quickly recognized the true nature of these spikes.

Seeing that his enemy had discerned his tactics, Shinji no longer concealed anything. He struck the ground forcefully with the long handle of the Harpe, calling out the true name of his Noble Phantasm.

"Kazikli Bey!"

In his sight, all tangible surfaces were covered in black shadows, sprouting stakes that completely sealed the evasion space around the altar.