Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Therefore, Joan of Arc was not a saint, but a witch.

However, if Joan of Arc were to actually learn about the history of this world concerning her, one wonders how devastated she would become.

Perhaps they are speechless due to the overwhelming amount of information they receive at once.

The girl had a slight smile on her lips as she gripped her knight's sword tightly and looked at Shirou Emiya.

But all they saw was Shirou Emiya's expression, completely calm and indifferent.

It seemed completely unconcerned about the cold that could freeze a person in an instant.

"—!"

At that very moment, sparks burst from Joan of Arc's blade.

The powerful force instantly knocked the knight's sword out of Joan of Arc's hand.

The coldness seemed to freeze at that moment on the gun in Shirou Emiya's hand.

"Click...click...click"

At the very moment Joan of Arc retreated, the temperature at the stern of the ship began to drop sharply, and a series of condensing sounds emerged from the air.

At sea, the air contains more moisture.

In just a moment, the moisture in the air condensed into ice spikes, which shot towards Shirou Emiya one after another.

Seeing this, Shirou Emiya couldn't help but sigh.

Once upon a time, when he first faced Esdeath, she also gathered countless ice spikes and shot them towards him in the same way.

Jeanne d'Arc's ice powers may be considered top-tier in this world, but they are worlds apart from the Great General whom Shirou Emiya once faced, who could freeze time, space, and even everything else.

Moreover, compared to Esdeath, who could create ice pucks the size of ships out of thin air without any reason, this was a far cry from the absurdity of the situation.

Jeanne d'Arc's method of condensing water molecules in the air into ice spikes for attack was so normal that Shirou Emiya found it somewhat unusual.

They even waited a little while for Joan of Arc to condense the moisture in the air.

Although this time is only a blink of an eye.

It's important to know that the ice spikes created by Esdeath are real, appearing instantly in the surrounding space.

The ice spike hurtled toward Shirou Emiya at top speed.

The next second————

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Amidst a cacophony of gunfire, Shirou Emiya raced toward Jeanne d'Arc's location.

He didn't seem to need to look at the location of the icicles at all.

Amidst the symphony of gunfire.

The ice spikes that were being fired at Shirou Emiya shattered instantly.

Such a number of ice spikes could be incredibly deadly to ordinary armed reconnaissance personnel.

However, for Shirou Emiya, it wasn't that he underestimated Jeanne's abilities; even if the number of ice spikes increased tenfold, they would hardly pose a threat to him.

Although pursuing science in a world filled with superpowers is a big mistake.

But the number of ice cones Joan of Arc created naturally depended on how dense the water molecules were in the surrounding air.

While there are more water molecules on the sea surface than on land, only so many can be created at a time.

As Shirou Emiya approached, Jeanne felt a sense of dread, as if something terrible was about to happen.

An intense icy blue light burst forth from beneath their feet.

The deck at the stern froze instantly, and the ground became incredibly slippery.

Even an S-class armed detective cannot—

Before Jeanne could finish her thought, in the next second, Shirou Emiya's twin pistols transformed into flashes of light, like a ray of moonlight, accompanied by a melodious sword whistle, and swung heavily towards the heavy sword in Jeanne's hand.

"choke--!"

The sound of metal striking metal, like the ringing of bells, transformed into a wave of sound that echoed in all directions.

The knight's sword covered in icy blue was easily deflected by Shirou Emiya.

It traced a magnificent arc in the air before plummeting to the seabed.

The blades on Shirou Emiya's twin pistols naturally inherit the style of reverse blades, with the blades opening on the back.

In combat, it is more like a blunt weapon than a regular sword or knife.

"it's over--!"

Emiya Shirou raised the gun in his hand and pointed it at Jeanne's forehead.

However----

"My Holy Sword Durandal"

Joan of Arc stared blankly at the holy sword that had flown into the sea, her eyes glistening with tears in the moonlight.

"Cough—! Ugh—!"

Emiya Shirou pulled a pair of handcuffs from his night hat and cuffed Jeanne's hands.

After all, not everyone can be like Shirou Emiya, with countless weapons at his disposal.

Even if a weapon is damaged, the next one can be quickly projected.

Chapter 408: A flawed script (revised)

Durandal, one of the three great holy swords of Europe, symbolizes holiness and justice.

The sword of Roland, the paladin and protagonist of the famous poem "The Song of Roland".

Legend has it that there is nothing it cannot cut, and it never breaks. It is an immortal and indestructible holy sword, on par with Excalibur.

At least, that's how it's recorded in the book—that's the knight's sword that Emiya Shirou just knocked away.

But this holy sword, which was on par with the Sword of Victory, was easily knocked away by Shirou Emiya and fell to the bottom of the lake.

Although during the battle, Shirou Emiya had no idea that the sword Jeanne d'Arc wielded was on par with the Sword of Victory.

He felt that if he were to project the Sword of Victory of the Contract, he would probably be able to easily cut through this sword, which was known as the sharpest in the world and whose blade was indestructible.

Perhaps Joan of Arc received a pirated copy.

Shirou Emiya could only let his imagination run wild.

Even though he had captured the accomplice of the "Armed Detective Assassin," he still felt like he had done something wrong.

"Projection started (Trace on)"

A halo of light appeared in front of Joan of Arc.

In Shirou Emiya's hand, a seemingly ordinary European knight's sword appeared.

However, upon closer inspection, one can clearly see that black patterns are wrapped around the silver-white blade, making it more like a work of art than a typical knight's sword.

But the moment Joan of Arc saw the sword, she felt a tremor that seemed to come from her very soul.

"Why, why is the Sword of Saint Catherine in your hands—"

As a descendant of Joan of Arc, she couldn't possibly not recognize the weapon that Emiya Shirou was holding.

That was the Sword of St. Catherine, which Joan of Arc had never used since she obtained it in the Church of St. Catherine.

However, when Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, all her equipment was also burned, including the sword of Saint Catherine.

They saved Joan of Arc with a double but didn't take her equipment with them.

Replacing someone with a double under such tight security was an extremely dangerous act, and they didn't have the resources to rescue Joan of Arc's equipment as well.

They also didn't have time to forge an identical set of equipment to replace it.

It is a universally acknowledged fact that the Sword of Saint Catherine was burned to ashes at that time, even those who rescued Joan of Arc believed that the Sword of Saint Catherine was burned at that time.

How did that weapon end up in the hands of Shirou Emiya, a modern Japanese man?

But what happened next shocked her so much that she forgot the grief of having just lost the Holy Sword.

It was a white flag with iris flowers on a background. After Charles VII granted Joan of Arc the right to use the iris pattern, Joan of Arc made the flag out of white cloth.

It is also a symbol of Joan of Arc.

This banner, like the Sword of Saint Catherine, was burned to ashes.

Even if it hadn't been burned, it's impossible for this flag to look brand new after 600 years.

But the sacred aura she sensed from it made her dare not doubt that it was a fake.

At the same moment Shirou Emiya projected the two items, the faint red mark on the back of his hand also deepened.

It begins to show its original shape again.

However, Shirou Emiya was unaware of all this.

He placed the two items in her hands apologetically.

Although the sword Durandal may have been a fake, the emotions Joan of Arc poured into it were real.

"Is this your superpower?"

Joan of Arc asked in a trembling voice, for this was a weapon used by her revered ancestor, and no amount of caution could be too much.

"boom--!"

Just then, a huge explosion erupted from behind Shirou Emiya.

The ship suddenly shook violently, and Joan of Arc lost her balance and fell to the side.

Emiya Shirou reacted quickly, grabbing her arm and supporting her.

As fireworks soared into the sky, terrifying tremors erupted from inside the ship in successive bursts.