"We could have all coexisted in peace. No one's life had to be disrupted."
"Why did you have to go and point it out?"
Facing the circle of hostile blades, Yubel only offered a mocking, satirical chuckle.
She seemed entirely unconcerned by the fact that she was surrounded. In fact, she didn't seem to believe these people could harm her.
She had already set her preparations. It was just a shame she wouldn't be able to "freely" siphon mana from this side anymore.
"You're quite confident for someone in your position," Muramasa noted, his blade inching closer to her throat.
BANG!
Yubel attempted to pull the trigger, but Artoria's Shirou slammed his shoulder into her, knocking her aim wide. The bullet struck the floor with a sharp crack.
At that same instant, the Red Archer, Muramasa, and Miyuverse Shirou all struck simultaneously.
CLANG!!
To their collective shock, their blades didn't bite into flesh. Instead, they struck an invisible, shimmering barrier that deflected the impact as if they had hit solid diamond.
CRACK!
Using the split-second opening provided by the barrier, Yubel propelled herself backward, crashing through the window and into the night air.
Tch!
Muramasa and the others didn't hesitate, diving through the opening in pursuit.
"Shirou, wait!"
Artoria's voice rang out, Sharp and urgent, stopping her student just as he was about to follow.
"Uugh?"
Shirou paused, looking back at his mentor in confusion.
'Was that... a Conceptual Barrier?'
Recalling the strange, mechanical glow that had appeared on the Black Archer's arm, Artoria was reminded of a very specific, and very unpleasant, memory.
'Serves you right!'
'You arrogant fools!!'
Could it really be such a coincidence?
As she followed the others out the window, her mind raced. In her memories, there was a certain Servant who utilized a similarly unreasonable form of magic. A system of rules and cards that had left a deep, painful impression on her.
If this intruder was using something similar, Red Archer and the others were in for a rude awakening if they didn't stay on their guard.
***
"Hmph. You're persistent, I'll give you that."
Yubel darted through the narrow alleys of the nearby town, her silhouette a blur of black and red. Behind her, she could feel the three distinct signatures of the Shirou-variants closing in with relentless speed.
She glanced at the card she had just activated,[Messenger of Peace]. It had served its purpose, protecting her from the initial ambush at the cost of one defensive resource.
"Should I finish them here?"
A cruel smile played across her lips as she looked at the Dragon card she had retrieved the previous day.
"How poetic. Even if you manage to destroy it, you'll only be inviting your own demise."
"Besides... I'd love to see what the White Faction is really made of."
Licking her lips with a sense of pure, sadistic joy, Yubel came to a halt in the center of an empty intersection.
"But first... I need a sacrifice."
Her mana reserves had stabilized over the night, replenished by her dual connections. From her deck, she drew a single card.
"Well... it's not exactly a legendary beast, but it'll do for now."
The monster was a simple one, but for Yubel's current purpose, it was perfect. It required minimal mana and served its function with morbid efficiency.
She slammed the card onto the [Duel Disk]. A surge of pale light erupted from the ground, materializing into a clattering, animated skeleton.
[Skull Servant] , DEF: 200
"!"
Muramasa arrived first. He didn't even slow down, the [Kusanagi] in his hand tracing a silver arc that shattered the skeleton into a pile of dust in a single stroke.
SNAP!
The creature vanished as if it were made of paper.
"Thank you for the assist. My monster has been successfully sent to the Graveyard..."
"Now... let's see how you handle this one."
Yubel stood her ground, facing the three pursuing Shirous with a triumphant grin as she slammed the next card onto the field.
"What?!"
"!"
A colossal, four-legged dragon with deep-blue scales and massive wings erupted from the air above the town. It loomed over the buildings, its sheer presence causing the windows to rattle and the streetlights to flicker.
[Bystial Druisurm]
"She summoned another dragon?!"
Red Archer, Muramasa, and Miyuverse Shirou came to a halt, staring up at the massive silhouette.
"I knew it!"
Artoria arrived a moment later, her expression one of grim confirmation. Shirou stood beside her, his breath hitching as he looked at the dragon. It reminded him of the horrific black dragon that had appeared in Fuyuki ten years ago,an event most people had forgotten, but one that was burned into his soul.
"Are you also a magus who fights with cards?!"
Artoria's question made Yubel pause for a fraction of a second.
"Ho? You've seen other Duelists?"
The information was intriguing. If there were other card-users in this war, she would have to adjust her strategy.
"Go! Tear them apart!!"
Yubel gave the command, her own silhouette beginning to blur as she retreated further into the shadows.
WHOOSH!
The [Bystial Druiswurm] opened its maw, a swirling vortex of blue energy condensing between its teeth. A beam of destructive mana erupted, plunging toward the group like a falling star.
"[Rho Aias]!!"
Red Archer didn't hesitate. He thrust his hand upward, and a seven-petaled shield of purple light manifested above them. The dragon's breath slammed into the barrier with the force of a tectonic shift.
KRA-KOOM!!!
The petals of the shield began to shatter, one by one, as they absorbed the immense pressure.
"Uugh!"
"This guy doesn't care about the city at all."
"This is going to get people killed."
Even with the barrier holding, the sheer scale of the attack threatened to level the surrounding blocks. They couldn't stay on the defensive in the middle of a populated town.
"You can do it, right?!"
"Take this thing inside and finish it!"
Red Archer looked back at Miyuverse Shirou, his voice urgent as he maintained the shield.
"Yeah. I won't let it rampaged any further."
Miyuverse Shirou understood exactly what he meant. As Artoria and Shirou watched in bewilderment, he began to chant.
'My body is made of swords.'
'My blood is iron, and my heart is glass.'
'Though I have stood on countless battlefields and remained undefeated...'
'I have never known victory.'
'Nor have I known defeat.'
The air began to hum with a strange, dissonant frequency. Rin and the others, arriving at the scene, felt a surge of magical energy that surpassed anything they had ever witnessed.
'Here I stand alone... forging swords on a hill of blades.'
'Yet this life has not reached its end.'
'This false body...'
'Is still made of swords!!'
The world around them distorted and dissolved. The streetlights and buildings were replaced by a vast, desolate wasteland. The sky turned a deep, bruised purple, and snow began to fall, drifting down onto a landscape littered with thousands of blades.
"What?!"
Yubel looked around in shock. The city was gone. She was standing in a graveyard of swords, the high moon casting a cold, silver light over the entire world.
It was as if she had been transported to a different dimension.
"So it's true..."
The dragon's breath had ceased. Red Archer looked at the desolate landscape and confirmed his theory.
Even with the same incantation and the same origin, the Reality Marble would manifest differently based on the user's Mental Imagery.
This wasn't the fiery, sunset-lit workshop he knew. This was a place of silence and death,the heart of a man who had abandoned his own justice to save a single person.
This was...
[Unlimited Blade Works]!
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]