Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Time waits for no one. The boy's instructions to Emiya were brief, just two sentences. How much time could that possibly take?

But for the demon who had already fully recovered, that amount of time was enough for him to pick up the weapon that had been knocked away along with his arm.

Generally speaking, demons without Blood Demon Arts are relatively weak, since a demon's strength depends not only on its own control over its own power but also, and more importantly, on the blood of that person.

The more of that person's blood one can obtain, the stronger one's combat power will become accordingly.

Blood Demon Arts are also bestowed by the blood continuously given by that person. Without enough blood from that person, Blood Demon Arts will not awaken on its own.

However, this does not mean that demons without Blood Demon Arts are weak. Over the years, countless trainers have sent their apprentices to Mount Fuji, but only a few have survived each time.

Are those young men and women who participated in the Fujiki Mountain trials unable to use breathing techniques? Or are they simply lacking the ability to slay demons?

Those who are allowed to go to Fujiki-yama are generally permitted to do so with the permission of the Demon Slayer Corps' trainers. The criteria for being allowed to go are, of course, because their strength has reached a certain threshold.

Hopefully, through this trial of blood and tears, they will truly realize what kind of monster they will be facing.

Moreover, the demons captured in Fujiki Mountain were mostly weak, so even so, the survival rate of the boys who had learned various breathing techniques was still very low.

This is enough to show that even a demon without Blood Demon Art can have the ability to kill a Demon Slayer Corps member.

Compared to the weak demons inside Fujiki Mountain who barely eat, the demons outside Fujiki Mountain, with their abundant energy, are naturally much more difficult to deal with.

"puff!"

Before Emiya could pull the Nichirin Blade that the boy had stuck in the ground, the demon's entire body moved like a cheetah, approaching Emiya's position with astonishing speed.

The demon was fast, but it didn't surpass the level that Emiya couldn't withstand.

At least it wasn't so fast that the figure became blurry and completely invisible.

With his exceptional eyesight, Emiya was still able to keep up with the demon's movements, albeit with some difficulty.

For an archer, dynamic vision is far superior to static vision, and Emiya doesn't just train on fixed targets.

He also tried shooting at moving targets.

Obviously, it's very simple; Emiya was able to easily pierce the very center of the apple that Fujiwara threw into the air.

Emiya could even shoot through apples spinning in the air with his eyes closed.

This clearly demonstrates his confidence in his archery skills.

Faced with such a fast-moving demon, Emiya's biggest problem was that his own speed couldn't keep up.

This is an innate difference; the eyes see it, and the brain reacts, but the body cannot keep up.

If his enhancement magic could strengthen himself, the situation would be completely different. The enhanced teacher could directly withstand Saber, not to mention the devilishly muscular Rin.

If one could use enhancement magic to strengthen oneself, although it wouldn't be possible to truly exchange blows with a Heroic Spirit, it would be more than enough to deal with ordinary demons like this.

"Qiang!"

Emiya, who could barely make out the ghost's movement trajectory.

The demon, whose attack had been blocked, showed no remorse and quickly retreated, transforming into a blurry black shadow. He moved around Emiya like a bat.

Sometimes they attach themselves directly to trees, using the tree's elasticity to make their attacks more powerful.

Sometimes, like a wild beast, it moves across the ground on all fours, its entire body twisting into a bizarre posture.

The ghost bounced back and forth like a ball in this area.

After each attack, they never lingered, quickly departing without giving Emiya any chance to retaliate.

Countless blades flashed from all directions along with the demon's attack, like a storm, trapping Emiya in place and rendering him unable to move.

Emiya could only do what the boy before him had done, constantly trying his best to adjust his position and barely managing to withstand the onslaught of attacks.

The series of clanging sounds of swords clashing against each other put immense pressure on Emiya's hand, which was holding the sword with one hand, and his entire tiger's mouth area began to go numb.

Even the boy, who was already kneeling on the ground, could sense that Emiya's defeat was only a matter of time.

"Seize the opportunity!"

The boy knew that under such a fierce attack, Emiya would not have a chance to pick up his Nichirin Blade, and as an ordinary person, he had no way to counter the demon's attack.

He had to use his last breath to find an opportunity to kill it in one blow; otherwise, neither of the two people present would have a chance to survive.

He was now weak and bloodless, and felt that he might faint at any moment. Perhaps the previous attack was too reckless, but it also gave him the feeling of wielding a knife with his left hand when he lost his arm.

The boy lowered his head, his mouth slightly parted, and gusts of air flowed in and out of his mouth.

He needed to seize an opportunity, and he couldn't let the ghost guess what he was thinking. He slightly raised his head to observe the ghost's location.

At this moment, Emiya was also in great pain. The powerful shock had basically numbed his hands, and he could no longer exert much force on his katana.

The next blow will leave me with no chance to defend myself!

"Humph!"

The demon standing on the tree trunk also revealed a slight smile. It knew, of course, how badly Shirou's hands were in the current state, and it also knew that the next blow would be fatal.

However, his target was never Emiya, but the boy who was always kneeling beside him!

Then, the demon's body landed on the ground, scurrying about like a rat. The silver light seemed to be a countdown to its death, flashing continuously in front of Emiya under the moonlight.

In the blink of an eye, it appeared behind the boy.

"not good!"

At this moment, Shirou was completely unable to react. All the previous attacks had been directed at him, and Shirou had no idea that the demon's real target was the seriously injured boy.

Die!!!!

Chapter Fourteen: The Horn of Counterattack Has Sounded

The tearing roar, accompanied by the sound of a silver blade slicing through the air, seemed to have already sealed the boy's fate.

With his hands completely numb, Emiya's ability to raise his hand was much slower than before. He could only watch helplessly as the serrated katana slashed towards the boy's head.

"Projection begins!"

A small piece of iron appeared out of thin air in front of the weapon in the ghost's hand.

The projection of just a piece of iron the size of a mobile phone had already consumed most of Emiya's magical power.

He doesn't even have the magic to maintain his enhancement spell anymore; the visible green stripes of magic attached to the katana are starting to dissipate.

Emiya didn't know why projecting a piece of metal required so much of his magical energy.

But at this moment, he had no time to think about so much.

A small piece of iron is not enough to withstand such a rapid slash.

But that was enough to change the direction of its attack!

The ghost's pupils contracted sharply upon seeing the suddenly appearing iron block, but at this moment, it was completely impossible for it to withdraw its strength.

"Blood Demon Art? Or some new breathing technique?"

A whole host of things flashed through its mind in an instant.

"clang!"

A loud thud rang out, and the samurai sword, struck by the metal sheet, slashed downwards.

"Pfft!"

The sound of flesh being ripped open stained the silent forest with blood.

The boy's back was slashed open, and blood flowed from the wound like a fountain. Emiya could even see...

The boy seemed to have lost all vitality, remaining completely still despite the injury.

"It seems my intervention was unnecessary."

It quickly retreated, grabbing its face with one hand and laughing wildly, as if victory was already within its grasp.

With no one threatening their lives, victory has essentially been declared.

"hateful!!!!!"

Emiya's hand, gripping the katana, trembled slightly with anger.

However, he doesn't even have the most basic enhancement magic right now.

Although he can still use enhancement magic, it would deplete his life force, but life force is not a statistic.

Overdrawing his life force would weaken Emiya's body further, which would be counterproductive and would put him at a disadvantage even faster.

"His weapons probably can't withstand any more attacks!"

Emiya could clearly see the serrations and irregular scales on the katana in its hand.

Samurai swords are inherently easy to damage; even Nichirin swords are frequently damaged, let alone an ordinary samurai sword like this.

The katana, enhanced by Emiya's enhancement magic, became several times harder and sharper.

After numerous exchanges of blows, its katana was already beyond its strength; if it hadn't been the one constantly on the offensive, the sword would have broken long ago.

Conversely, if it weren't for the enhancement magic, Emiya's katana wouldn't have been able to withstand so many slashes.

"I will kill you right here!"

Emiya, gripping his two katana tightly, charged toward the demon's location.

He was just an ordinary Japanese high school student; he didn't have the kind of speed that could create a sonic boom by stepping on the ground and teleporting.

"Then I grant you death! Hehehe!"

Not to be outdone, the demon once again transformed into a phantom, leaping through the trees and running on the leaves, trying to use the same method as before, like a spider, to exhaust its prey's strength and slowly entangle and devour Emiya.

But Emiya wouldn't let him have his way. Emiya decided to give up on defense, but for a demon, giving up on defense is tantamount to suicide.

It can constantly regenerate itself, and for humans like Emiya to exchange injuries with such a creature is not just a loss, it can only be described as foolish.

A ghost's wounds heal in seconds, while a human might take ten or twenty days to recover from the same injury.

Just as Emiya was searching for the location of the demon, a surge of yin energy suddenly struck Emiya's celestial spirit.

With a sound like steel clashing against steel, a dark figure appeared above Emiya in the dim forest. Their weapons clashed violently, sparking intense sparks.