Shirou, who returned from the Fairy Kingdom

Floff's time as the progenitor of the Dead Apostles was too short, and he did not accumulate much strength.

However, being a knight by birth, he possesses exceptional combat skills and intuition, which is truly rare among the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, who are mainly of the "noble" and "magician" types.

If you underestimate him, the fate of the previous nineteenth ancestor is a good example.

"Your feeling is correct; my power is still very weak."

Floff said calmly, "But that's enough to kill you."

"That's just your imagination."

The body of the dead man was ejected from the snow.

The leap, achieved through superhuman physical capabilities, instantly closed the distance between him and Shirou.

He gripped a strangely shaped hunting knife in his hand and swung it down suddenly.

Shirou gently deflected the blizzard-like attack with a casually projected ordinary iron sword.

"I see. That's quite an impressive skill. I didn't notice it much because of the strong smell of blood."

I need to reconsider my evaluation of you—although the fact that "you are weak" won't change.

Shirou said this casually, while Flöf swung his hunting knife several times without changing his expression.

The speed of the slashes continued to increase.

He launched a lightning-fast combo, shattering Shirou's sword into shards of glass.

Freud Arkhangel was a genius among geniuses.

As a mysterious (Dead Apostle), his life was far too short.

However, as a warrior and hunter, he possesses over five hundred years of rich experience.

Flöf was very good at refining his combat skills in actual combat and could quickly adapt to the opponent's style.

However, the red-haired high school student, Shirou Amamiya, blocked everything with a series of projected iron blocks.

"You're the type who excels at attrition warfare, aren't you?"

With exceptional insight, they excel at observing their opponent's actions and thoughts during battle, thus achieving victory against the odds.

I understand, I completely understand, because I'm the same type as you.

Despite his weapon being shattered, Shirou remained calm and simply projected new weapons to counterattack.

Both sides are in the probing stage...

Rin Tohsaka stared wide-eyed at the battle.

Although she initially had the idea of ​​helping Shirou fight the enemy, that thought quickly vanished—

Her eyes were already strained just keeping up with both sides' movements, leaving no room for intervention.

That is Amamiya's swordsmanship, which even allowed her to fight Servants head-on in the Fourth Holy Grail War...

He went easy on me during my usual kendo practice with Fujimura-sensei...

"Lord Shirou! Be careful!"

Yvette suddenly shouted, her magic eyes shining brightly—she sensed the expansion of Floff's magic power.

The next instant, the vampire's body erupted with a massive burst of explosive flames, like a blizzard.

"?"

Luvia sensed the intense tension emanating from her skin and her brows furrowed slightly.

Is this guy's power fire, not ice and snow?

No, I think his ability to control temperature would be more suitable?

Floff's hunting knife had transformed into a sword of fire, slashing down at the red-haired boy from directly above.

Shirou projected two longswords to block the attack.

However—he could only block the sword strikes, but could not stop the spread of the flames.

Starting from Shirou's feet, orange flames completely engulfed him.

"Shirou!!!"

The girls looked nervous.

However, it was only a moment of tension.

Shirou unleashed a whirlwind with the projected "Blade of Chaos," scattering the flames and sending Floff flying more than ten meters away.

"Eh... Ah!?"

This time, the girls were truly shocked.

The vampire, who had existed for hundreds of years, knelt on one knee, his hand gripping the hilt of the hunting knife trembling uncontrollably.

"No way, this level of power can't kill me. Let me see your true skills."

Shirou brushed the sparks off his body.

Compared to Lancer's magical release (fire) experienced in the Holy Grail War, Flöf's heat is nothing.

That being said, Shirou is now only a mortal being.

Without King Arthur's spirit origin, one cannot access the King's Treasury.

Of course, it also lacks the flesh and core of a dragon.

However, even a single, burning human heart would be more than enough to suppress the vampire before him.

He threw the "Blade of Chaos" in his right hand.

The curved blade did not pierce the vampire's chest but instead wrapped around his right hand.

The chains connected Flöf and Shirou, then were suddenly pulled—

It was waved like a helicopter.

The vampire's body spun around as the chains swirled, accelerating until it was slammed heavily into the snow.

The snowflakes cascaded into the sky like a waterfall.

After that, the Vampire Forest gradually returned to peace.

"…………"

The girls were dumbfounded.

It was so one-sided that there wasn't even time to react.

From the moment the vampire claiming to be the Twenty-Seventh Ancestor announced his name to the temporary end of the battle, the entire process took no more than five minutes.

Shirou displayed overwhelming power, mercilessly defeating Flöf.

It's hard to imagine that this is the strength a 16-year-old boy should have.

This has already surpassed the scope of what modern humans should be able to do. No... even warriors from the mythical era couldn't suppress the Ancestor of the Dead Apostles so easily.

If I had to use a word to describe it, it would be "abnormal".

Shirou's strength cannot be explained by common sense.

Even the most potent poison that erodes human reason seems "ordinary" compared to the Ancestor among the Dead Apostles.

In that case, even if he smiled and declared that the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead Disciples were weak, no one would question him.

"No, really, he's just really weak? The ancestors I know are probably even weaker—"

A sudden gust of wind swept through the forest.

Shirou frowned.

Something completely different from before has arrived.

"Run!"

Shirou rushed toward the girls, but it was too late.

The cold wind that swept through the forest became the "phenomenon" itself.

The forest lost heat rapidly.

Without any delay, the earth, which had at least retained its original form just moments before—

It turned into a frozen river.

The remains of Fu Hailin's son were forcibly altered in material form in an instant, becoming part of the ice world.

This scene is less a "rapid drop in temperature" and more a "manipulation of the earth's surface environment."

The world was thus stained white.

"Tohsaka!" "Luvia?" "Miss Yvette!"

Shirou looked around, but the endless whiteness blocked his view.

The girls were blown away by the lingering force of the freezing wind and lost contact with Shirou.

The fierce wind and snow scooped the earth out like pudding and swirled it into the sky, creating an otherworldly scene.

At the same time, Floff slowly got up from the snow.

"The world is so cold..."

The knight, who was steady just moments ago, has now become extremely mentally unstable.

Flöf stared at Shirou with his deep red eyes.

Shirou had no choice but to temporarily abandon the idea of ​​finding teammates and focus on dealing with the enemy in front of him.

The temperature in the forest has reached minus 100 degrees Celsius.

He's fine because he has Einzbern's thermal armor, but Tohsaka and the others might not last more than ten minutes in this environment.

"You guy..."

Shirou gritted his teeth.

The vast, unbroken glacier before him was Flöf's true power, and also the mark of him as the nineteenth patriarch.

The "Blood Ring of Principle," proof of its ancestor, the power to transform planets—

Once upon a time, there was a strange man who hated and feared humans, and in order to escape them, he drifted to the ends of the earth and built a castle.

One of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, Zelia Akenbaum.

A woman who has lived for over a thousand years, without children, but who simply rules her own territory.

—Florence was her knight.

Two hundred years ago, Flöf was bewitched by an evil magician and killed his master to escape the coldness in his body and mind, thus stealing her power.

With this power forcibly seized from its predecessors, even a 500-year-old vampire is enough to reign supreme on the ancestor's throne!

As a consequence, Flöf lost his body temperature, and his consciousness and mental state became extremely unstable.

For him, only bathing in the warm blood of humans could bring him a brief moment of peace.

"........."

Dozens of sharp ice stakes appeared behind Flöf, and he held a huge lance that was over six meters long in the field.

The young progenitor of vampires stared at Shirou with empty eyes and slowly spoke.

"Come on, let's begin the second round."

"That's enough, Mr. Flov."

A steady and intellectual voice pierced through the blizzard.

It was a tall figure draped in a black coat, standing in a white world that seemed to darken the surroundings.

He had the same inhuman red eyes as Flöf, and a black raven perched on his shoulder.

The moment their eyes met, Shirou felt an intense pressure.

Although it didn't take away control of his body, it still made him feel restricted and very uncomfortable.

The same principle as the "Enchanting Mystic Eyes" but several levels higher... a "Gold" level Mystic Eye?