Shinji Matou At Your Service

"Let me cross your lightning!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Red Rider's figure halted abruptly, then disappeared in the next instant.

No, he didn't disappear; rather, his forward speed was so fast it appeared as though he had vanished.

At the moment he "disappeared," a strong sense of danger drove Shinji to instinctively summon a bolt of lightning. Because it was instinctive, the lightning's placement, trajectory, and timing reached an unprecedented peak.

Yet, even such an excellent lightning maneuver couldn't stop Rider's charge. As the lightning struck, he leaped up, hurdling over the barrier of lightning—literally crossing it.

Through several attempts, Rider had identified Shinji's weakness.

No matter how fast the lightning was, it ultimately couldn't keep up with his speed. As for predictions, as long as he did something unpredictable—like jumping—he could evade them.

A competent warrior would never readily let their feet leave the ground, as humans without wings lose their footing and mobility once airborne, making it impossible to dodge attacks. If he could evade lightning on the ground, why risk jumping?

With this understanding, Red Rider successfully broke through the lightning barrier.

Now, there were no obstacles between him and Shinji.

"It's over!"

Confident in his speed, Rider raised his fist, knowing that at such high speeds, this punch could shatter Black Assassin's bones, regardless of any weapon the enemy might use.

To Rider's surprise, Black Assassin made no move to defend, nor did he panic or dodge. He stood calmly, his lips parting to utter a single word: "Forward!"

In that instant, the familiar sensation of paralysis once again invaded Red Rider's body. Though not as intense as when struck by lightning, it was a fleeting, slight numbness, lasting less than a breath. But at a critical moment, any negative impact could change the outcome.

This was the opportunity Shinji had been waiting for. The black-gold spear, imbued with magic, shot forward, aimed directly at the off-balance Red Rider.

In a moment of crisis, Rider regained control of his body, gritted his teeth, and planted his feet like iron stakes into the ground, halting his momentum. He grabbed the approaching spearhead with all his might.

The spear, infused with Ishtar's divine power, tore through Rider's immortality, and bright red blood gushed from the black grooved blade, dripping to the ground.

The injuries to his hands did not diminish Red Rider's strength; instead, they fueled his ferocity. With a roar, his arm muscles bulged unnaturally, and the sudden burst of power overpowered Shinji, who was augmented by "Mana Burst." The spear's tip was less than three centimeters from Rider's heart.

Having stopped the heart-piercing strike, Red Rider didn't continue the struggle with Shinji. Instead, he let go and retreated. Normally, this would leave him open to a follow-up attack, but Rider's speed far exceeded Shinji's. In a few strides, he was out of attack range.

Watching Rider move at a speed a quarter slower than his initial charge, Shinji felt a twinge of regret.

Had Rider retreated at full speed, there might have been a chance. Being so cautious left no opportunity. After all, dealing with a top-tier Servant wasn't easy.

Red Rider stopped about twenty meters away, his amber eyes scanning as if searching for something. After a moment, he uncertainly asked, "A bounded field?"

Shinji didn't have the habit of explaining his techniques to enemies and remained silent.

Red Rider didn't mind, nodding to himself, "Yes, a bounded field. I can feel the connection between the magical energy in the air and that lightning Noble Phantasm. You must be using a bounded field to borrow the Noble Phantasm's power to affect my movements."

Shinji still didn't speak, but this time it was because there was nothing to say—Rider had seen through the enhanced version of the "Paralyzing Strike."

As Rider indicated, Shinji had indeed used a bounded field to alter the battlefield, the latest bounded field he had completed.

Ever since defeating Souren Araya, Shinji had been diligently studying bounded field magecraft. However, the bounded field magecraft left behind by Araya was incredibly profound, and after several months of research, Shinji had made little progress. It wasn't until the first half of the year, after a deadly battle with Orternrosse, that the relic fully fused with him, allowing him to unlock the secrets of bounded field magecraft with the relic's experiential support.

Interestingly, what seemed obscure and difficult before became much simpler after gaining entry. In just a few dozen days, Shinji's mastery of the bounded field advanced rapidly. Whether this was due to the inherent nature of barrier techniques, the support of the relic, or Shinji's exceptional talent, remained unclear.

Regardless, Shinji developed a new technique before his next journey—Divine Thunder Barrier.

The bounded field is based on the "portable barrier" technique left by Araya, with Shinji himself as the core and the Thunder of Indra as the pivot. Normally, Shinji's current level wouldn't be sufficient to sustain such a high-level bounded field. However, since the bounded field originated from Buddhism, and both the Thunder of Indra and the relic are Buddhist artifacts, this dual enhancement compensated for the technical deficiencies, completing the bounded field.

Of course, this bounded field, reliant on external objects, still had considerable gaps compared to Araya Souren's "Six Realms Boundary." Nonetheless, this newly developed technique proved extremely practical.

Bounded Field - Divine Thunder Barrier: This magecraft extends the power of Indra's Thunder over a wide area. The larger the area covered, the weaker the lightning's power.

However, Shinji didn't intend to use the bounded field for direct attacks. He valued the paralyzing effect that the electric current would produce on the body. At a crucial moment, even a top-tier Servant would be brought to their knees—Red Rider being the first victim.

Despite being caught off guard and suffering a significant loss due to the lightning-bounded field, Red Rider's spirit was undiminished, if not intensified.

"I made a mistake. I shouldn't have underestimated you because of your class. Even an Assassin is a heroic spirit—worthy as an opponent."

A hero of his stature instinctively rejected those who relied solely on ambushes and assassinations, forgetting that an assassin's class didn't define the heroic spirit's true nature.

Using his full strength against an assassin felt like an insult to himself, but not taking a heroic spirit seriously was an insult to both parties. At this moment, Red Rider fully set aside any contempt and resolved to seriously defeat the enemy before him.

Seeing the undisguised fighting spirit and smile of Red Rider, Shinji's expression turned somewhat bitter.

"If possible, I'd prefer not to be recognized by a warrior like you. It's gratifying but also more troublesome. I can recommend a worthy opponent for you who'd be delighted to fight."

However, the more Shinji responded this way, the more intrigued Red Rider became. This attitude of helplessness without fear, of frustration without retreat, was something he didn't expect to encounter in the Holy Grail War.

"I'm indeed curious about the opponent you mentioned, someone who sees through my immortality and says such things. But, compared to an unknown opponent, I want to defeat you. You remind me of someone who, knowing he couldn't beat me, still used all sorts of ways to restrain me. Every time I wanted a one-on-one fight with him, he always said similar things."

"In that case, you and I are destined to be rivals! Oh gods of Olympus, grant glory and honor to this battle!"

Red Rider pointed to the sky with his still-bleeding right hand, maintaining his heroic demeanor both in life and in death.

This time, it was Shinji who felt paralyzed.