Unlimited Blade Works of the Raging Dimension

Reinforcement Magecraft is one of the most basic forms of Magecraft, but for Shirou, it is even more proficient than Projection Magecraft. After all, this is the Magecraft he practiced daily in the past. Over the years, this Magecraft had not been neglected.

Moreover, even the simplest Magecraft, when practiced to a high level, cannot be underestimated in terms of power. Now, with the support of enhanced magical energy, Shirou's physical fitness approached that of Esdeath, and they were truly evenly matched.

However, that wasn't the end of it. Reinforcement Magecraft could only temporarily make Shirou's physical fitness comparable to Esdeath's, but her ice control ability was also terrifying in close combat. Esdeath could manipulate ice at will, allowing her to attack from any angle during a fight, and the low temperature would slow down her opponent's movements, which was another disadvantage for Shirou.

Yet Shirou wasn't worried at all, because he had a trump card strong enough to handle this situation.

"Zaruba, it's up to you."

"Understood. Leave it to me."

After this brief exchange, Shirou placed the short sword in his right hand in front of Zaruba, and a powerful surge of magical energy erupted from his body. A large amount of magical energy flowed out and enveloped the area. The intense magical energy covering his entire body almost condensed into a tangible substance.

If a Magus were to witness this scene, they would surely be baffled, as directly covering the body's surface with such a massive amount of magical energy seemed utterly wasteful and offered negligible defensive benefits.

But would Shirou do something so pointless? Of course not.

Just as the magical energy enveloped Shirou's entire body, Zaruba opened his mouth, and blue flames spewed out, igniting the dagger in Shirou's right hand.

This time, it was as if gasoline had been lit. The blue flames quickly spread along the dagger to Shirou's entire body. The blazing fire burned fiercely, and the intense heat even caused the air to distort slightly, yet Shirou felt no discomfort.

This was Zaruba's second ability. He used Shirou's magical energy as fuel to ignite the blue flames. These flames not only had an extremely high temperature but also possessed a powerful effect against evil. Now was the time to use it.

In Zaruba's original world, knights clad in special armor used these flames to slay monsters, and they even utilized the unique properties of their armor to cover their entire bodies in magical fire to unleash their full power in close combat. This state was called [Flame Armor]. Although Shirou didn't have special armor, he could achieve the same effect by covering his entire body with magical energy.

This might sound like a lengthy process, but in reality, it only took a few seconds. Before Esdeath could react, Shirou had already completed it.

"Come to think of it, didn't you say you were an Archer? Why do you enjoy close combat so much?"

After doing all this, Zaruba couldn't help but complain. According to Shirou, he was summoned as an Archer in a ritual called the Holy Grail War, but since Zaruba had fought alongside him, he noticed that this guy was extremely fond of close combat, which he couldn't understand.

"Let's not talk about this now, we'll discuss it after the fight!"

Shirou's body charged toward his opponent once more, and Esdeath swung her sword forward.

*CLANG!* *CLANG!* *CLANG!*

The swords clashed again, but this time, Esdeath was forced back two steps. It was clear that Shirou had the upper hand this time.

"Your strength has increased again? Interesting, you're truly fascinating. You keep coming up with strange tricks. But that's what makes it exciting!"

Esdeath, who had been forced to retreat, showed no trace of concern on her face. Instead, she was exhilarated to the point of madness. This was the kind of battle she desired—a fight where one misstep could lead to defeat was the most thrilling.

After stabilizing her stance, she immediately swung her sword.

The ice sword in her left hand couldn't withstand the flames on Shirou's body. The sword turned into water upon contact, making it impossible to effectively block. As for the ice spikes, their smaller size caused them to vanish into thin air before even reaching Shirou.

Yet, even in the face of this dilemma, Esdeath showed no intention of retreating. Since ice was useless, she used the sword in her right hand to deliver an impenetrable slash, clashing with Shirou's dual swords. The two were evenly matched.

However, the attack would fail if it dragged on too long. Another sword swung, and Esdeath leaned back. The flames swept past her hair, not harming her, but her military cap was blown off.

'Close combat isn't favorable for me. The blue flames are too restraining. It's better to avoid direct confrontation.'

Thinking this, Esdeath exerted force with her legs and pulled her entire body back. Shirou, of course, wouldn't let her retreat and immediately pursued her.

Esdeath wasn't panicked at all and didn't counterattack. She simply raised her left hand and snapped her fingers softly.

*SHUA!*

A wall of ice suddenly appeared in front of Shirou, blocking his two swords. Although it was completely shattered in less than a second, it also gave Esdeath time to create distance. The gap between the two was now nearly ten meters.

Ice rain leaped and attacked furiously!

*WHOOSH!*

Esdeath's signature move was used once again, and ice blocks even larger than in their previous battle fell like meteors toward Shirou.

However, Shirou didn't dodge. Facing an attack stronger than before, he didn't even use his best defensive technique. He simply crossed his swords and slashed abruptly.

The sharp energy of the swords, accompanied by green flames, cleanly sliced through the entire ice block.

"Oh?" Esdeath raised an eyebrow, showing a hint of surprise at the sight. "I've already overestimated you as much as possible, but I didn't expect you to break my move this time."

"Same here. Your growth has exceeded my expectations."

The brief conversation ended, and an even fiercer battle ensued. Esdeath stretched out her arms, and the power of the Demon Extract was unleashed with even greater efficiency. But this time, the target wasn't Shirou—it was Esdeath herself.

*GRRRMMM!*

A massive iceberg emerged from beneath Esdeath's feet. A few seconds later, an iceberg over ten meters tall stood before Shirou!

Before Shirou could even wonder why she had done this, Esdeath gave him the answer through her actions.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*

A series of loud noises echoed across the area. The iceberg was like a massive artillery tower. Endless ice grew from the iceberg and rushed toward Shirou at incredible speed. The ice blocks were so large that even the flames couldn't melt them. In this short time, pillars of ice continuously assaulted Shirou.

"Don't underestimate me, Esdeath."

Shirou roared, and the Noble Phantasms in both his hands flew out, spinning in irregular trajectories, dodging all the ice and shooting straight toward the iceberg.

The next second, a tremendous explosion soared into the sky.

*BOOM!*

Broken Phantasm!

Shirou had used this technique before in his battles with Esdeath and Night Raid, but back then, he had only unleashed ordinary longswords with limited power. This time, he detonated a fully released Noble Phantasm. In terms of power, this technique far surpassed his previous attempts.

After waving his hand and letting the dust settle, Esdeath appeared before Shirou. She looked quite disheveled, her clothes covered in dust, but that was all—there were no visible injuries.

"The power was a bit beyond my expectations. I could barely defend against it. It seems you weren't using your full strength last time."

"You're the same. You took this attack without a single injury. You're just a bit messy. That's worthy of admiration."

At this moment, Shirou couldn't help but admire her. He knew full well the power of a Broken Phantasm. He had once killed Hercules with a Broken Phantasm. Although he hadn't used a Rank A Noble Phantasm this time, the magical energy contained in the fully released Kanshou and Bakuya was no less than that of a Rank B Noble Phantasm. Yet Esdeath blocked it and wasn't even injured, aside from being slightly disheveled. This was truly worthy of admiration.

"Don't underestimate me. I know ordinary techniques are useless against you. To face you, I've worked hard to develop a special technique. Let me show you!"

After saying this, Esdeath didn't retreat but instead charged forward, rushing toward Shirou.

"I'll accept any technique you throw at me. Let me see your special move."

Facing Shirou's words, Esdeath didn't respond. In less than a second, the distance between them had closed to five meters. But at this moment, she stopped, clenched both her hands, and a massive surge of energy erupted from her body. Her eyes locked onto Shirou as she slowly uttered a word.

"Mahapdama!"