Trascender : The Fourth Gust

Chapter 6 : Northern Wind

The wind whistled across the desolate plateau, carrying the metallic tang of blood and the acrid scent of ozone from Shirou's rifle. Shinji stood facing the Money Hunter, Tamago's body a grim monument nearby, the stolen Galories gleaming mockingly in Shirou's pouches. Cold fury warred with the unnerving cellular warmth flooding Shinji's veins.

Shirou moved first. His rifle snapped up, not with the heavy thump of before, but with a rapid, staccato CRACK-CRACK-CRACK! Hypersonic slugs screamed through the air. Shinji reacted. Voidheart-enhanced reflexes propelled him sideways in a blur, the first three rounds tearing through the space where his chest had been. He twisted, ducked, the fourth and fifth rounds parting his hair, the sixth grazing his shoulder with searing heat. *He's faster! Adjusting!*

CRACK! A seventh round slammed into Shinji's thigh, punching through muscle and bone. Agony lanced up his leg. CRACK! An eighth tore through his bicep, spinning him. CRACK! The ninth hit home; dead center in his chest. Shinji gasped, the breath driven from his lungs. CRACK! The tenth struck his temple.

Darkness threatened. Pain exploded in multiple vectors; the searing hole in his chest, the shattered thigh, the pulped arm, the fractured skull. He stumbled, vision swimming. Then, the familiar, terrifying warmth surged. It wasn't gentle; it was a furious, cellular rebellion. He felt bone shards snap back into place in his leg, muscle fibers weaving shut in his arm, the hole in his chest closing with an audible snick, the dizziness clearing as his skull reformed. He straightened, breathing heavily, the wounds steaming as they vanished within seconds, leaving only bloodstains and a deeper, gnawing fatigue beneath the surge. "That hurts, damn it!" he snarled, locking eyes with Shirou.

The Money Hunter didn't flinch, but a flicker of calculation replaced his earlier cool confidence. *Damn it,* Shirou thought, his fiery white hair seeming to bristle with frustration. *He's a damn cockroach. A regenerating tank. Every second I waste, the Acrosian cavalry gets closer. Can't outlast him. Can't kill him. Need to stun, grab the loot, and vanish. Speed is my only edge now.* His finger tightened on the trigger.

"Fine. Let's see you block this!" Shirou barked. The rifle spat another relentless volley; not aimed for center mass, but a precise pattern: knee, shoulder, elbow, hip, forcing Shinji into a desperate, weaving defense.

Shinji gritted his teeth. Dodging was becoming impossible; the sheer volume and precision were overwhelming. 'Believe...' Merus's voice echoed faintly in his mind. 'Believe in the surge.' He planted his feet, ignoring the instinct to flee. He brought his forearms up, not to block, but to deflect. Voidheart-enhanced speed and strength flowed through him. His arms became blurs. CLANG! A slug ricocheted off his vambrace. SPANG! Another skittered off a knuckle. THUD! A third deflected off his reinforced shoulder. For a fraction of a second, it worked. He was parrying bullets.

Then CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! Three shots found their mark in rapid succession: one through his forearm, shattering bone; one through his calf; the final, sickeningly precise, through his left eye. Shinji roared, staggering back, clutching his ruined face. Blood streamed down his cheek from the empty socket. The warmth surged again, agonizingly intense this time, rebuilding optic nerve and ocular tissue, knitting bone and muscle, the pain a white-hot counterpoint to the healing. Faster. Always faster.

Shirou saw the moment of vulnerability, the hand clutching the face. A cold, predatory smile touched his lips. "If that's the case...!" He raised the rifle slightly, a faint, emerald glow coalescing around the muzzle. "EMERALD BULLET!"

The sound wasn't a crack. It was a deep, resonant BOOM that shook the plateau. A bolt of condensed, viridian energy, crackling with contained destruction, lanced across the distance. It struck Shinji square in the chest. There was no penetration this time. There was an explosion.