After running to a relatively open area, Shirou finally stopped and turned around to face the group that had been chasing him and Swire.
Unlike Shirou and Swire, who were only slightly out of breath, the dozen or so pursuers were panting like Perros.
"…If we keep running a bit longer, do you think we could just exhaust them to death?"
Looking at their state, Shirou quietly asked Swire.
"You think they are idiots? If they cannot keep up, they will just retreat."
Swire shot him a huge eye-roll, clearly unimpressed with the question.
"Do not get cocky! We are here to avenge our boss! Get them!"
Seeing the two of them not only stop but seemingly treat them like a joke, the leading thug got furious. He charged at Shirou with an iron rod, and the others followed close behind.
Most of them were armed with clubs or short knives. Shirou did not see any ranged weapons like crossbows.
After confirming their numbers, weapons, and the favorable terrain, Shirou quickly formed a plan in his mind.
After all, being attacked out of nowhere would anger anyone and Shirou was no exception.
Setting the grocery bag down, he spread his arms.
"Trace on—"
Mana shimmered in his hands. As the light faded, the twin blades Kanshou and Bakuya appeared.
"Did not expect Kanshou and Bakuya's first battle here to be against street thugs…"
Weighing the blades lightly in his hands, Shirou muttered to himself. Since regaining his memories, this was his first time using them in actual combat.
The thugs hesitated the moment they saw the twin swords.
"…Are we still fighting?"
One of them asked weakly. Just the fact that Shirou had suddenly conjured weapons was already unsettling, not to mention those blades did not look ordinary at all.
People who could use Originium Arts were not someone they could easily mess with.
"Fight, of course we fight! There are so many of us, are we really afraid of just one guy?!"
Although the leader was already wavering inside, he still forced himself forward for the sake of face.
"I do not know who your 'boss' is, but if he chose to harm others… then he should have been prepared to get hurt in return."
Leaning slightly forward, Shirou's gaze sharpened.
The twin blades in his hands began to feed him fragments of memory of their wielder, Archer.
As Archer's most frequently used Noble Phantasm, simply holding them allowed Shirou to feel the countless battles they had gone through.
Standing nearby, Swire clearly felt the change in Shirou's presence the moment he grasped the black-and-white blades.
That aura… she had felt something similar from Chen when she was serious in combat.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Swire watched as Shirou rushed forward with both blades in hand.
Facing the weapons coming at him, Shirou swung his right-hand blade. A crescent arc of light flashed, instantly shattering the weapons that came within range.
His goal had never been to kill them but to disable these thugs.
But breaking weapons alone was not enough.
"My leg! My leg!"
With a light slash of his left-hand blade, he cut across two attackers' legs. Blood burst out immediately.
Shirou had already held back. If he had not, they might have lost the ability to walk for life.
He did not give the others time to react. A swift side kick struck another man's jaw, sending him flying.
In a single exchange, Shirou had destroyed most of their weapons and rendered three people unable to fight.
Stepping back a few paces to reset his stance, he prepared to continue.
"Lungmen profanity—what kind of Originium Art is this?!"
The leader cursed loudly, staring at the broken remains of his iron rod.
This was ridiculous, what kind of weapon could smash iron like it was wood?
In just a few seconds, their weapons were gone, and three of them were already out of the fight.
How were they supposed to continue?
"Wait! We surrender!"
The leader immediately dropped the half-broken rod and raised both hands.
The others quickly followed suit, tossing away their weapons.
Having fought plenty of street battles before, they could tell Shirou was on an entirely different level.
If they could not win, they would surrender.
Seeing them all raise their hands, Shirou was momentarily stunned.
Were they not just shouting about revenge a moment ago?
Swire, standing nearby, also twitched slightly, silently raising her assessment of Shirou's strength to a very high level.
As for those black-and-white twin blades, she had no idea where they came from. She could only chalk it up to Originium Arts.
When in doubt, blame Originium Arts.
"Alright, talk. Why did you attack us?"
Shirou did not dismiss the blades. Instead, he spun them once in his hands and held them in a reverse grip.
Partly to guard against a fake surrender— nd partly because he was wary of someone observing from afar.
That person had just arrived and seemed to be carrying a large shield.
"B-because… we had to avenge our boss…"
The leader stammered, not daring to make any sudden moves.
Out here, bullying the weak and fearing the strong was not shameful, it was survival.
"Your boss?"
Shirou frowned. He did not recall having any conflicts since coming here.
"You mean that Infected from the mall incident, right?"
Swire walked over, holding the grocery bags Shirou had set down.
After hearing their exchange, she quickly made the connection. It had been her case, after all.
These people were likely subordinates mentioned in the files.
"…I see. Then that person watching us over there must be another accomplice?"
Understanding the situation, Shirou pointed into the distance.
"Where?"
Following his gaze, Swire spotted the figure. When the person noticed them looking, they gestured with the phone in thier hand.
—Let's begin, the best…
At that moment, Swire's phone rang.
She immediately picked it up.
The ringtone… was the result of a bet she had lost to Chen, she had been forced to record herself singing it and use it for a whole month.
As a result, every time her phone rang, she answered it at lightning speed, lest anyone hear it and witness her social demise on the spot.