Unlimited Blade Works of the Raging Dimension

Just as both sides were on the verge of defeat, Shirou's twin swords shifted slightly, and the longsword in his left hand deflected at a slightly different angle compared to before. It was indeed a very small adjustment, but it was enough to turn the tide.

He blocked all the ice spikes fired at him, including the ones aimed at his vital areas. The left sword, which was originally slashing at Esdeath's chest, now slashed at her right arm. However, the longsword in his right hand still followed its original trajectory, cutting across her chest and leaving a bright red trail of blood.

But it didn't end there. Shirou's left had followed up with an elbow strike that slammed hard into her stomach.

"Ugh..." Esdeath couldn't help but curl her body after receiving the heavy blow. Then, another kick sent her flying, and she fell to the ground, sitting weakly.

"Huh..." Shirou stopped and looked at his left leg and right shoulder, both now covered in blood. An ice spike was embedded in his lower abdomen, and blood was splattered everywhere.

"As expected of the strongest in the empire, she almost took me down with her even in that situation. Should I say her reputation is well-deserved?"

Indeed, the ice spikes had only managed to protect Shirou's vital areas, but his lower abdomen was still pierced, and his left leg and right shoulder were grazed.

After pulling out the ice spike from his lower abdomen, the wound slowly stopped bleeding due to the influence of his magic power. It had to be said that this body was extraordinary. Not only did it possess an immense amount of magic power, but its self-healing ability was also several times stronger than that of an ordinary person.

Shirou walked over to Esdeath and looked down at her, who had now lost her ability to fight.

"You win." Esdeath said, lying on the ground and staring at the man before her. "Now you can do whatever you want."

"Oh, you really don't care about anything."

"There's no need. I lost, so I'm the weak one now. You won, so you're the strong one. It's only natural for the strong to treat the weak however they please."

Esdeath spoke these words calmly, as if they had nothing to do with her. She didn't care at all how she would be treated—whether she would be killed, humiliated, or tortured. It was all because she was too weak. The weak had to endure all of this, and the strong had the right to deal with the weak as they saw fit. In her eyes, this was all justified. After all, this was the ideology she had been taught since childhood, and in her heart, it was the truth.

Shirou looked down at Esdeath, who appeared indifferent. Although he had long known about her personality, he still felt a headache when actually encountering it. However, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

At that moment, Esdeath's left hand, which could still move normally, suddenly transformed into an ice sword and stabbed toward Shirou.

The timing was perfect. Shirou had already been injured in the previous attack, and now he was completely off guard due to Esdeath's sudden move. The distance between them was so close that it seemed impossible for him to avoid this strike—at least, that's how it appeared in Esdeath's eyes.

However, reality didn't go as she had imagined. Shirou was no ordinary person.

*SHUA!*

Under Esdeath's shocked gaze, Shirou's right hand firmly grasped her left hand, and with a slight exertion of force, he caused her to release the ice sword due to the pain.

Then, Shirou's left hand slapped Esdeath's chest. A trace of magic power spread from his hand and entered Esdeath's body, directly severing the signals from her spinal cord.

Suddenly, Esdeath lost all ability to resist.

Shirou had never let his guard down around Esdeath.

Not for any other reason, but simply because of Esdeath's name and her Imperial Arm, Demon's Extract. Unlike other Imperial Arms that existed in the form of weapons, this one was directly integrated into Esdeath's body, granting her the ability to manipulate ice.

And Shirou's earlier actions had, at most, only caused Esdeath to be severely injured, without affecting her ability to control her ice powers.

"What happened? What did you do to me?" Esdeath struggled but found herself as if paralyzed, her body completely unresponsive to her commands.

"It's useless. I just did something to your body. You'll recover soon, but for now, you have no strength to resist."

A hint of mockery appeared on Shirou's lips. "No matter what, you're still one of the strongest in the empire. It would be too much of an underestimation to think you'd lose your ability to fight just from the injuries you've sustained."

"Thanks a lot for the compliment." A trace of disgust appeared on Esdeath's lips.

"So, what do you want to do with me? Torture, humiliate, or torment me in some other way?"

"Uh..." Shirou couldn't help but frown. "In your mind, is this the only way to treat the defeated?"

"Of course." Esdeath said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "After all, you could have killed me just now, but you didn't. Instead, you made me lose my ability to fight. This shows that you don't want me to die. You want to get something from me, and to extract information from a prisoner, isn't torture the way to go?"

"Huh, in a sense, you're right, but I suddenly thought of something." Shirou's face showed a faint, ambiguous smile. "According to what you said earlier, the strong can do whatever they want to the weak. From this point, can I understand that, in your opinion, the strong can do anything they want to the weak?"

"Of course."

"Alright." Shirou gripped Esdeath's chin. "You've now fallen into my hands and become my prisoner. You belong to me, and I am your Master. Is that correct?"

"Oh?" Esdeath's eyes showed a hint of surprise, and then an unknown meaning appeared in her gaze. "You're right, but you're wrong about one thing. No one can make me submit. I only live according to my own will, and no one can change me."

"As expected." Shirou tossed Esdeath to the ground, showing no intention of showing her any mercy. "Forget it, I've already done what I wanted to do. It's up to you now."

"If you don't kill me this time, I'll keep chasing you and destroy you until you submit. Think carefully." Esdeath fell to the ground, but she didn't care. She wasn't the type of weak woman who would scream in pain from being hit. All that was on her mind now was one thing: to surpass the man before her, then crush and conquer him.

"Whatever. I'll be heading to the imperial capital next. If you want revenge, come find me there. I'll be waiting for you." Shirou shrugged indifferently and was about to leave when he suddenly felt an inexplicable impulse. With a swift motion of his right hand, he removed the headpiece from Esdeath's head. "This is my trophy. I'm leaving now. I'll be waiting for you in the imperial capital."

After saying that, Shirou looked into the distance and saw the Imperial Army, drawn by the battle between him and Esdeath. He turned and disappeared from Esdeath's sight in a few breaths.

"Huh..." Feeling her body slowly recovering, Esdeath gritted her teeth and slowly stood up, looking in the direction where Shirou had left. "I'll definitely go, and then I'll crush you under my feet and tear you to pieces."

At that moment, the imperial soldiers arrived belatedly.

"General, you..."

Seeing Esdeath in such a disheveled state before them, the imperial soldiers were momentarily stunned—the undefeated General Esdeath could be in such a sorry state.

"I'm fine. I'm dealing with the aftermath and preparing to return to the capital."

"Yes, sir!"