Volume 1: Beginnings CH10

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Shirou was dreaming of his death.

He stood against a beast more powerful than anything he ever knew. Black as night, impossible to track, and nigh invincible against his infinite armoury.

It was suffocating, the presence of an invisible apex predator. Shirou felt like Primate Murder was breathing down his neck, yet he was sure that the beast was a distance away from him. It was distracting, and certainly didn't help him focus on the situation.

Another blast of superheated air washed over the area, melting both snow and ground alike into glowing hot rock.

Shirou had thrown an unnamed Noble Phantasm from Gilgamesh's collection. It held an Anti-Beast property, making it one of the few weapons Shirou could use against Primate Murder. It was weaker than he hoped, but that was easily answered by breaking the phantasm.

A rock smashed into his position, but Shirou was already gone. He jumped behind another set of trees while materializing another set of swords. It was a mixed set of swords designed for utility and Anti-Beast phantasms.

A basic sword engraved with a code to manifest a burst of light, similar to a flashbang, activated. The area was instantly flooded in brightness to stun the monster, followed by Shirou breaking one Anti-Beast weapon and shooting it at Primate Murder.

The explosion met nothing, the beast of Gaia having disappeared below ground.

Shirou grit his teeth. It was already hard to keep track of Cath Palug above ground. Below ground was simply an impossibility. In a normal sense, Shirou should be able to feel the tremors underneath as the beast tunnels within the earth. But that did not apply to the First Seat of the Dead Apostle Ancestors. Primate Murder seamlessly merged itself with nature to an unnatural degree that nature and the beast couldn't be differentiated. As such, Shirou could feel nothing even as Cath Palug circled him from below.

A single tap on the ground was all that was needed to cast a large-scale structural analysis on the battlefield. Shirou instantly received the feedback and grimaced. Even Primate Murder's physical structure has adapted the concept of nature, rendering it impossible to read the difference between it and the ground.

Well, there was only one way to force it out. Waiting for the ambush wasn't going to help Shirou.

Shirou traced Herakles' great weapon from the 5th Holy Grail War. He redirected his prana to focus towards boosting the reinforcement in his right arm before slamming it into the ground at breakneck speeds.

The idea was to replicate the earth shaking tremors Primate Murder had been throwing around by focusing an insane amount of power into such a small point. Hopefully, Shirou would be able to identify a dissonance of vibration between the monster's body and that of the earth.

If he could just catch the position and direction the beast was coming from, then it would be easier for him to avoid getting murdered. Not that it was easy to dodge Primate Murder in the first place.

The First Seat of the Dead Apostle Ancestors was one of the greatest threats to humanity after all.

The ground shook as a wave of kinetic energy erupted from the point of impact, spreading outwards in a radial manner. At the same time, Shirou observed the transforming structure below him, until the wave met a composition of particles that did not break down from the stress.

Without waiting, Shirou bounded in the opposite direction. Immediately, the ground exploded as the giant wolf lunged at him, jaws wide open, teeth as large as him open to swallow him whole.

===

Shirou jerked up with his heart pounding. The dream felt too real. He could feel the danger and fear of fighting the monstrosity. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Swords of power, a monster so large that it dwarfed the forest.

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