Fate: Kill

Chapter 44

Ice suddenly mounted around her, a shield to block the buffeting winds generated from his careful switch from controlled output, to an unmitigated blitz.

He took in a steady breath, and then released it, the air crackling around him.

Magic energy was something not so easily harnessed in this new world such that when in the act of doing so, it created abnormal phenomena. The unknown, no matter how captivating, was bound to instill an air of caution in Esdeath.

He'd always thought of her as more of an aggressor than a passive fighter, but here she was seriously observing every action he would take. Even she must have heard the rumours regarding him.

They called him a Wizard, a practitioner of magic.

Given his current display, she truly believed it as well as many others.

Still, she could watch all she liked. His surge of energy wouldn't last for more than he'd need it to, but not through any will of his own. He was quickly running out of energy, just barely maintaining the minimum required to keep his Reality Marble active for just a short while longer.

His eyes closed, then opened, revealing a gaze of cold steel.

Inwardly, he set a timer for no less than five minutes that he knew would deplete rapidly with excessive use of force. This wasn't a world where magic energy could be freely restored without ample supply of Danger Beasts. Therefore, he had to ration and plan. Fortunately, that step was already done the moment he committed to this war.

"Trace-" The interface patterns that marked his skin hummed to life, pulsating with magic energy. "On."

While his magic energy was still abundant, he willed forth three swords that appeared hovering before him. Esdeath raised a brow in wonderment, sensing the unique aura each sword exuded, but he paid her no mind. Holstering two swords by his waist, he wielded one against the adversary before him under her critical eye.

If her strength was ice, then his would be a fire that would shine down over all.

He held his sword aloft in a single-handed grip: a greatsword that was bulkier at the base, yet possessed a sharpness and power that was beyond mankind's ability to make.

"Excalibur," flames ignited and crawled over the blade, flickering, and releasing smoldering embers. "Galatine."

The temperature around him quickly rose, clashing against the bitter cold and creating an area of steam temporarily overpowered by fire. The sudden spike in sheer heat caused Esdeath to flinch, beads of sweat trickling down her brow before increasing waves of frost soon cooled her features.

"How poetic," Esdeath muttered.

Ice against fire, oh he certainly understood.

It was a clashing of polar opposites, both equally neutralizing the other.

Carefully watching Esdeath, Shirou shielded his face from a sudden onset of cold. He watched her smiling, a feral, almost savage air surrounding her. Ice spread out from beneath her heeled boots, stretching towards him before melting in the boundary of hot and cold. Everywhere else behind her though, was beginning to freeze into a world of white.

Against him, she must have understood that numbers would never be the answer considering his ability to summon an unlimited number of pelting swords.

All at once, she seemed to release and absorb the power of all the ice she could muster, affecting everything around her. In the sky above, dark clouds began to set and writhe with tendrils of lightning. Rain poured, but under the icy conditions, snow fell instead, creating a heavy blizzard that only fueled her absorption.