Standing on the roof of the vehicle, the cloth wrapped around Shirou's neck fluttered wildly in the wind.
He lowered himself into a half-kneeling position, hooking one foot onto the rack mounted on the roof to stabilize his body and keep himself from being blown away.
"...Looks like there are enemies on both sides?"
With the higher vantage point, Shirou's field of vision widened. He also spotted another convoy behind them on the right side, something he could not see earlier due to limited perspective.
"Shirou, that is way too dangerous! I will tie you up with a rope!"
Exusiai leaned halfway out of the sunroof, complaining as she quickly tied a rope around Shirou's leg using one that Sora handed over.
The other end was secured to the passenger seat, just in case Shirou got blown off the car at high speed.
Unfortunately, the wind was so loud that Shirou did not hear her complaints, he only noticed that his leg had been tied.
Which, honestly, worked out great.
Now he could go all out.
Turning back, he observed the pursuers. They were about a little over a kilometer away. He could clearly see that they were all dressed in black and armed with swords, guns, clubs, staves, shields, hammers… a full arsenal.
Combined with the fact that they had been relentlessly following despite Texas constantly changing directions, it was obvious these people had bad intentions.
Still, to avoid unnecessary casualties, Shirou decided to give them a warning first.
As for how to "warn" them?
"Trace on—"
A black longbow materialized in his hand.
"???"
Exusiai stared blankly at the bow.
Were there not only dual swords before?
Well… now that she thought about it, if it were only swords, then his job compatibility would not include Sniper and Caster. Guess they had just overlooked that detail earlier.
She watched as Shirou held the bow in his left hand, while in his right hand, a strange-looking sword began to take shape.
"Hey, how is it going up there?"
Croissant popped her head out through the sunroof, squeezing in next to Exusiai. She had come to pass Shirou a headset so he could stay in communication, though with this wind it would probably just be static.
Then she saw it.
A spiral-shaped sword forming in Shirou's hand.
"...Huh?"
She turned to Exusiai, hoping for an explanation.
"Do not look at me. I have no idea what he is doing."
Exusiai shook her head.
"You think he is gonna… use that as an arrow?"
Croissant lowered her body slightly to avoid the wind interference and spoke more clearly.
"No way. That is way too absurd. Forget whether it can even hit anything without fletching, just the weight alone makes it impossible."
Exusiai dismissed the idea outright.
But—
"Um… Exusiai, I think he really is about to use that as an arrow."
Croissant nudged her and pointed.
Shirou had already placed the spiral sword onto the bowstring.
Crimson mana gathered around it.
"Praise Laterano above…Shirou, you are seriously going to shoot that thing? There is no way that will even—"
Exusiai started to complain, but stopped mid-sentence when she saw Shirou reshape the spiral sword into a more slender form.
"…Did you say something?"
Shirou turned his head slightly and asked. The wind had drowned out most of what they said.
"I said that if one shot takes you over thirty seconds, how long is it gonna take to deal with all of them?!"
Exusiai instantly changed her argument, switching from "this is impossible" to "this is too slow."
"Hey, that is not what you were saying just now."
Croissant looked at her with disappointment.
"That is not a problem. This is just a warning shot. One is enough."
Shirou turned his focus back to the rear.
His aim was not directly at the convoy but slightly ahead of them.
Because this was only a warning.
And in a barren wasteland, the best kind of warning…
Was an explosion.
If they still chose to chase after that then he would not hold back.
And speaking of explosions—
That brought to mind Archer's Caladbolg… and its perfect partner:
Broken Phantasm.
Shirou remembered very clearly the destructive power Archer achieved with that combination.
"Caladbolg!"
He released the bowstring.
The projectile shot forward in a straight line.
"…Wait, that is way off!"
Exusiai quickly calculated the trajectory and realized where it would land.
Was he messing with them? Where did his earlier accuracy go?
Croissant could not quite analyze it, but she had a feeling—
That "arrow"… no, that sword was definitely not that simple.
Right after firing, Shirou immediately grabbed onto something stable and shouted:
"Hold on tight!"
Before Exusiai and Croissant could react—
A massive mushroom cloud erupted where the spiral sword had landed.
"Laterano above, please protect me—!"
Exusiai nearly lost her footing and fell back into the vehicle, barely saved by Croissant grabbing her.
"Short and powerful Lungmen profanity!"
Croissant held onto her tightly, stunned.
She had expected something unusual—
But not this.
Who could have seen that coming?
After the shockwave settled, Shirou observed the aftermath.
The pursuing vehicles had all come to a halt, They made no move to continue chasing.
"Done. They have stopped."
Shirou spoke calmly to the two still frozen in shock, even helping Croissant close her still-hanging jaw.
"Shirou, you… I… this…"
Exusiai struggled to form words.
After a long pause, she decided—
Her brain needed a reboot and her entire worldview probably needed an update too.