Unlimited Blade Works of the Raging Dimension 30

Title: Shattering the Freeze

“Mahapadama!”

As Esdeath spoke, a tremendous force emanated from her body.

Everything froze, whether it was the leaves falling in the evening breeze or the lingering dust from the battle that had yet to settle.

The term Mahapadama refers to the eighth of the Eight Cold Hells in Buddhist terminology, and Esdeath’s secret technique was named after it, showcasing her confidence.

She had every reason to be proud of herself. This technique was specifically developed to counter Shirou. Esdeath didn’t know how much energy she had expended in the process, but it was all worth it. A technique that could even freeze time was truly invincible.

“As expected, you are incredibly strong. However, no matter how strong you are, I will always defeat you. This time, you lose.” Esdeath slowly walked toward Shirou, speaking as if victory was already hers. “This technique was developed specifically to counter you. I can only use it once a day because it consumes too much energy, but it’s worth it because this technique is unbeatable...”

*WHOOSH!*

“Is that so? But it seems useless against me.”

*SWOOSH!*

A sharp sword shot forward along with the mocking words, and under Esdeath’s stunned gaze, Shirou wielded two swords and slashed.

Reacting quickly, Esdeath immediately distanced herself from him. Shirou didn’t pursue her, as close combat would take too much time, so he decided to end the fight from a distance.

*SWISH!*

In that brief moment, the frozen time and space returned to normal, but Esdeath was shocked for the first time since her battle with Shirou began.

In the air, a strand of blue hair slowly fell. It was hers. In the previous exchange, if she hadn’t reacted quickly, it wouldn’t have been just a strand of hair that fell.

But Esdeath didn’t care about that now. She stared at him with doubt in her eyes: “How is this possible? How did you break free from Mahapadama? Even the cold that freezes time and space was useless?”

“No, I must admit, this technique is incredibly powerful.” Shirou said sincerely. “It’s just that your ice doesn’t have the power to withstand my fire. Since your ability can freeze time and space, wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t use this technique to break the freeze with fire?”

“Fire?” Esdeath stared at the blue flames surrounding Shirou, and the suspicion in her eyes lessened slightly. “I see, this isn’t ordinary fire either.”

In truth, if it weren’t for Zaruba’s magical flames, Shirou would have had to expend a great deal of energy to counter Mahapadama. After all, this technique could be said to be unbreakable. There was no good way to deal with it. Moreover, even though it was magical fire, it had nearly drained a tenth of his magical energy at the last moment to withstand the extreme cold. With his current total magical energy, a tenth of it far exceeded all the magical energy he had before. From this perspective, it also highlighted the absurdity of Esdeath’s technique.

Fortunately, Zaruba’s magical flames had an extremely high temperature, enough to withstand the cold that could freeze time and space. In fact, Esdeath had experimented and found that ordinary fire, no matter how fiercely it burned, couldn’t withstand this level of cold. That was why she hadn’t taken the flames on Shirou’s body seriously at first. Although the temperature of the blue flames was extremely high, her ability to control ice gave her significant resistance to fire. So, she hadn’t noticed it.

Although she was shocked that Shirou had broken her hard-earned secret technique, Esdeath was one of the strongest people in the world. She quickly adjusted her mindset and faced Shirou again.

‘Although it’s quite surprising, there’s nothing I can do about it. Fortunately, I still have a backup plan.’

Thinking this, Esdeath launched another attack at Shirou.

But this time, she didn’t create ice to confront Shirou. She simply waved her hand, but nothing happened.

‘What is she trying to do?’

Seeing her actions, Shirou was slightly confused.

‘Whatever it is, it’s better to end this fight quickly.’

Thinking this, Shirou released the two swords in his hands, drew his bow again, and at the same time extended his right hand, summoning a strange sword.

This sword was different from the smooth blades he usually wielded. Its blade was spiral-shaped. Shirou placed it on his bow. As the bowstring was drawn, the entire blade gradually lengthened, making it more suitable for shooting.

Caladbolg, the famous sword of the hero Fergus Mac Roich in Celtic Ulster mythology. This was a modified projection by Shirou, allowing it to be used as an arrow.

If Broken Phantasm was activated when this sword was shot, its power would be comparable to a Rank A Noble Phantasm. Shirou was confident that Esdeath wouldn’t be able to withstand this attack.

However, just as the arrow was aimed, Esdeath revealed a faint smile in his line of sight. Shirou was stunned, but then his sharp perception allowed him to notice something unusual in the distance.

A wave of sound came from afar, like the movement of thousands of troops.

Shirou recognized the sound, ‘The sound of hooves? Did Esdeath summon an army?’

As he pondered the question, he looked into the distance. But when he saw it, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

With Clairvoyance, he could clearly see the scene in the distance.

Dust was flying, stirred up by the charge of cavalry. Troops as far as the eye could see were rushing toward them. The entire formation was in perfect condition, and no additional sounds could be heard except for the advancing hooves.

But Shirou wouldn’t have guessed that this was the result of Esdeath’s well-trained troops, because these soldiers weren’t human, nor were they living beings.

“It seems you’ve figured it out?” Esdeath looked at him, who had stopped moving, and smiled happily. “To defeat you, I didn’t just develop Mahapadama. This technique also uses Ice Knights made of ice. Each Ice Knight has the strength of a general. I’ve been stockpiling them for a full month, and the total number is around 10,000, just to face you. So now, you’re facing my army.”

Indeed, Esdeath’s second trump card was the Ice Cavalry. When Mahapadama proved ineffective, Esdeath immediately activated the Ice Knights that had been stationed nearby since morning.

“You’re truly terrifying.” Shirou said sincerely. “You only have the ability to control ice, yet you’ve developed techniques to freeze time and space and this Ice Cavalry. I must say, you’re a true genius.”

But then he added: “However, the outcome between you and me has already been decided, and that is your defeat.”

*SWOOSH!*

As the words left his mouth, the bowstring in his hand was released, and the arrow shot toward the Ice Knights in the distance like a meteor. The arrow didn’t target Esdeath because Shirou wanted to defeat her completely.

The Ice Knights were incredibly fast, and within ten seconds, they were only two hundred meters away from Shirou. But at that moment, the spiral sword struck the center of the Ice Knight formation.

“Caladbolg II — Broken Phantasm!”

*BOOOOOMMMMMMM!*

A sky-high explosion swept across the battlefield. The power of a Rank A Noble Phantasm was fully displayed, as if a small nuclear bomb had detonated. A massive mushroom cloud rose slowly. The temperature and impact of the explosion shattered the surrounding Ice Knights into pieces. This single attack alone had wiped out hundreds of Ice Knights.

However, this wasn’t the end. The sheer number of Ice Knights made Esdeath indifferent to this loss. Moreover, Shirou knew that the Ice Knights were just the beginning, and the true ultimate technique was yet to come. That move might affect the entire empire.

Therefore, facing the incoming army, Shirou decided to fight quickly.

As his body moved, he didn’t dodge but instead charged toward Esdeath. Along with his figure, an incantation echoed in the air.

“I am the bone of my sword.”