Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Fortunately, Shirou Emiya's attack was extremely swift, and [Broken Blade] did not use enough of its existence power to complete such a strike.

"cough--!"

But Shirou Emiya couldn't figure out why [Broken Blade] hadn't dodged his strike to the head.

Trading injury for a life—by any measure, Shirou Emiya is the one who gains.

Even if such a blow killed Shirou Emiya, it would still be a human being trading the life of a Crimson Lord. The Crimson Lord would never have made a mistake in such a simple calculation.

Then there's only one possibility.

Anxiety also constantly surrounded Shirou Emiya.

"boom--!"

Emiya Shirou gritted his teeth and stomped the ground to dodge to the side.

The armor quickly covered Shirou Emiya's entire body once again.

Terrifying flames, carrying countless swords, surged up from the ground once again.

This attack was rather hasty and not as intense as before; it was a surprise attack only on the spot where Shirou Emiya had just fallen to the ground.

[The Broken Blade] has emerged from the ground once again.

His dark red eyes, like those of a vengeful ghost, stared intently at Shirou Emiya as he flashed past. Even in the scorching heat, the surrounding air suddenly turned chilly.

"To survive the [Raging Torrent of Fire], and for even the [Stigmata] to have no effect on you, just how many Noble Phantasms do you possess!"

A deep voice came from the mouth of the [Bad Blade] that was suspended in the air. It was the first time he had seen something that could render his Freedom Technique ineffective.

The attacks of [Broken Blade] always contain a self-imposed technique—[Stigmata].

That is a magic that allows the wounds left by the [Broken Blade] attack to slowly enlarge over time. Normal magic for dispelling curses and healing is ineffective against it. Even Flame Haze warriors can only obediently wait for their death under this magic.

In simple terms, it's an enhanced version of the inescapable yellow rose.

Besides making the injury irreversible, it will also cause the injury to continue to worsen automatically, and if left untreated, it will eventually lead to death.

However, this kind of free magic cannot work on a human, which is something that [Bad Blade] cannot understand.

"No, it took effect, but it was neutralized the moment it took effect."

Feeling the sensation of his own attack, he knew that his Freedom Technique had indeed taken effect. He also personally sensed that the wound was spreading at an extremely fast speed when his attack landed on Shirou Emiya.

For some reason, the very short time he had been hiding was resolved by the method he had set up.

Humans cannot possibly have the ability to resist the power of the Free Law. The only explanation is that Shirou Emiya possesses a Noble Phantasm with top-tier healing abilities.

Even the powerful Crimson World Demon Lord's Freedom Technique could easily break through it.

[Bad Blade] became somewhat interested in Emiya Shirou's identity.

Let alone possessing a Noble Phantasm, this was the first time in his long life he had ever seen a human who could appear in the Sealed Realm and confront the Crimson World Demon Lord head-on.

How could a human possibly fight a Crimson Lord with a Noble Phantasm? It's something that wouldn't even happen in a dream.

However, [Bad Blade] quickly put aside his speculation about Shirou Emiya's identity. After all, Shirou was about to die in front of him, and all the Noble Phantasms would belong to him. He didn't need to know what Shirou's identity was.

They're just humans. What kind of background could they have? To the Crimson World Demon King, they're nothing more than livestock.

"This kid is no ordinary human brat."

Not far away, the man wearing sunglasses, who was lighting a cigarette with a murky purple flame, uttered this sigh.

Chapter 253 The Disappearance of Shirou Emiya

"I won!"

A youthful yet authoritative voice came from inside a suit of armor that didn't match its appearance.

A silver light shone in front of Margery.

Before her, with raging flames burning behind Shana, the user's Nie Dōzana pointed at Margery's eyes, looking down at her and declaring victory.

"That's it!"

Alastor, standing in front of Shana, also spoke up, saying that Flame Hazes shouldn't fight each other like this.

"Tsk——!"

"He's a Flame Haze, yet he's fighting me to protect [the disciple]."

Lying on the ground, Margery spoke sarcastically to Shana, who was looking down at her.

"The Flame Haze's mission is to maintain stability in the world, not to defeat the Crimson Denizens. It's just that most of the Crimson Denizens do affect the world."

Shana responded coldly to Margery, seemingly unaffected by Margery's sarcasm.

"you--"

Margery wanted to say something more, but Shana rudely interrupted her.

"I have no desire to continue arguing with you. No matter how valid your reasons may be for searching for the Corpse Collector, it's pointless because—I am the victor!"

"Tsk——!"

Marjorie's face also became slightly distorted.

Indeed, as long as Margery doesn't get rid of Shana, even if she finds the Corpse Collector in this city, she won't be able to do anything to her.

It's important to understand that the Corpse Collector wasn't a powerless Crimson Denizen. While he might not be able to fight a Flame Haze, he managed to escape Margery's clutches for so long, meaning he was perfectly capable of protecting himself before Shana appeared.

"untie!"

Shana shouted, and the crimson barrier over the entire area vanished in an instant. Her armor transformed into a short sword with chains, which she then stored in her veil along with Nie Dōsen.

The damage caused by the aftershocks of the previous battle with Margery has been repaired by Shana using her power of existence.

"------"

"what happened?"

Seeing the puzzled look on Shana's face, Alastor couldn't help but ask.

"Where is Emiya?"

Shana looked around. Logically speaking, given Shirou Emiya's speed, he should have arrived here long ago. Moreover, the seal couldn't stop Shirou Emiya's actions.

"indeed!"

Alastor responded in a low voice. Since the start of her battle with Margery, Shana hadn't even seen Shirou Emiya, which was extremely unusual.

Shana didn't sense any fighting taking place in the city while she was fighting Margery, and now that their battle is over, the entire Misaki City is peaceful.

It is precisely because of this tranquility that Shirou Emiya's disappearance seems even more eerie.

"Hahahaha, defeated by such a little girl."

On the other side, Margery, who was lying on the ground, was not seriously injured. Shana had stopped at the moment the battle was decided, and Margery only had some superficial injuries.

The books floating beside her were mocking Margery, who had been defeated by Shana.

"Ow—!"

Margery was already feeling irritated from Shana's oppression, and now she was being mocked by her.

She swung her fist directly at the flying book, and the book, as if it could feel the pain, wobbled and fell to the ground with its star ring on it.

"[Eulogy Reciter], are you still able to move?"

Knowing she had no other choice, Shana quickly turned around and asked Margery, who had just stood up from the ground and was tidying her clothes.

Shana was well aware of her weakness in investigative skills. If she were to search for Shirou Shiro in the city like this, she didn't know how long it would take to find him.

"Of course I can. As the victor, [Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Assassin], do you have any orders for me, the loser?"

"Just call me Shana. Can you use your magic to investigate a human?"

Shana ignored Margery's sarcasm, because she knew that this was not the time to fight Margery; that human might be facing a situation she could never have imagined.

"Humans? I'm afraid that won't work."

Margery frowned slightly. She hadn't expected Shana to ask her to find a human, but her Freedom Technique was mainly for probing the power of existence, with the main targets being Flame Haze, Torch, and Crimson World Apostles.

As for humans, even if Margery truly wanted to help Shana, she was powerless to do so.

"No, there's no need to investigate humans. Just check if anything seems amiss in the surrounding area."

Alastor responded to Margery in a deep voice. Shirou Emiya hadn't come, which clearly meant he had encountered some special circumstances.

In this world, only Crimson Denizens can create special situations.

Emiya Shirou is not weak; it's impossible that he left no trace at all.

Whether it's traces left from the battle or other aspects, everything can be discovered.

It is more convenient to directly search for traces of a person than to directly search for a specific person.

"is it?"

Margery didn't refuse. After all, using the free magic of exploration could also help her find the location of the "Corpse Collector." Why wouldn't Margery do something that would kill two birds with one stone?

A blue flame ignited in Margery's hand, and she murmured a string of poems that Shana couldn't understand.

Marjorie is also known as the "Elegy Reciter" because she enhances the release of her powers by reciting poems in a polarized manner when she performs her magic.

“There are unusual fluctuations of power over there.”

Not long after, Marjorie quickly pointed in one direction.

Shana looked at the place Margery pointed out and quickly rushed there.

"An aura of a very unusual existence."

Alastor, standing in front of Shana, spoke in a low voice.

A mark resembling a magic circle appeared in front of her, and the dense presence left on it indicated that this magic circle-like thing had been activated not long ago.

"Hahahaha, what kind of human could possibly make the [Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Assassin] so anxious?"

Accompanied by extremely rough and unpleasant laughter, Margot descended gracefully from the sky onto the rooftop.

He then touched the magic circle on the ground, as if sensing something.