Emiya Shirou Doesn't Want to Work Overtime [237]

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The fierce clashes rang through the air again and again—not only sending sparks flying, but making the very air around them tremble.

It was clear that, in terms of raw power, Shana, as a Flame Haze, far surpassed Shirou Emiya.
Each impact, each vibration, was enough to prove her strength.

Yet Shirou blocked them all—easily.

He didn’t even seem to be using much strength to do it.

Shana had never formally studied swordsmanship, nor did she, like Shirou, absorb the styles of countless masters to refine and evolve her own.
Her attacks were straightforward—her swings direct and unadorned. There was no intricate technique to speak of, but they weren’t wild or thoughtless either.

Because Shirou could see it—the direction of her strikes, the angles of her blade—each movement was the most efficient, the quickest path to attack. They were filled with raw force and decisive precision.
She resembled a certain Red Saber who also trusted entirely in her instincts when she fought.

But that was exactly where their difference lay.
That unnamed Red Saber didn’t merely attack by instinct—she had refined, analyzed, and evolved her intuition, forging from it a combat style uniquely her own, a technique only she could use.

Shana hadn’t yet reached that level.
She was still fighting purely on instinct.

But when it came to instinct, Shirou Emiya’s was by no means inferior—and he carried far more life-and-death experience. Within mere moments of crossing blades, he had already read her attack pattern.

"[SWORD BREATHING, FLAME FORM—BLOOMING FLAME UNDULATION]!"

Shirou spun sharply, a fierce gust of heated air swirling around him.
A terrifying wave of heat gathered along the edge of the reversed-blade katana in his hands.

There were no flames—but the air itself scorched.

It was a technique he had once seen Rengoku Kyojuro perform, one that Shirou had learned and modified himself.

Szzzz—!

The instant Shana’s blade came down, Shirou raised his reversed blade to his shoulder, catching Nietono no Shana and riding the force of the strike downward.
Using that momentum, he lunged forward, closing in right beside her.

The reversed blade, carrying searing heat, arced toward Shana’s neck.

Not good—!

Realizing how close the blade was, Shana reacted on instinct—flames erupted violently from Nietono no Shana’s edge.

The heat surged up Shirou’s arm, forcing him to spring backward.

In that moment, the reversed blade in his hand glowed a molten red from the overwhelming temperature.

Waves of black smoke curled off the weapon.

Before Shirou could even speak, the reversed blade shattered into dazzling fragments of prana—it could no longer maintain its form. The construct had collapsed, unable to match the image in his mind.

“What incredible flames—”

Shirou’s eyes hardened. Even if the blade hadn’t melted, his hand would’ve been scorched if he’d held on any longer.

There was no question—Shana’s power when using her flame was on a completely different level.

Her swordsmanship might be rough, but with those flames enveloping her, her overall strength was nothing to underestimate.

To put it in game terms—Shirou had just pushed Shana into her second phase.

At first, Shana had believed that pure swordplay would be enough to defeat a human opponent. After all, a Flame Haze’s physical abilities were far beyond that of a normal person.

But she hadn’t expected to be outmatched so quickly. She was forced to call upon the Flame Haze’s power—her flames—to continue the battle.

This was no longer a casual spar. Shana wanted to fight with her full strength.

And she knew—Shirou Emiya hadn’t even brought out the armor he’d worn in his battle against Friagne.

Unleashing her flames was her way of sending a message to Shirou: I’m going all out.

Otherwise, the moment she blocked his strike earlier, she would have immediately counterattacked instead of pausing in place.

It was a signal: If you don’t fight me seriously, you won’t withstand what’s coming.

Her black coat rippled violently with the rising wind, its hem flaring and fluttering.

Combined with her flame-colored hair streaming behind her, Shana—the Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter—looked every bit the heroic knight on a battlefield, her presence blazing with valor.

Terrifying flames burst outward from her body, condensing in an instant into a massive, flaming hand that lunged toward Shirou—faster than sight.

It was one of Shana’s Unrestricted Spells—the manifested claw of Alastor, the Flame of Heaven, formed from crimson fire to crush her enemies.

A fierce wave of heat exploded toward Shirou.
If that flaming claw caught him, there would be nothing left of him but ash.

Its speed wasn’t unmanageable—Shirou knew that if he projected Incursio Armor, he could easily evade it.

It wasn’t that his current speed was insufficient—only that the temperature was so intense that without Incursio Armor, he’d be severely burned.

So, the optimal solution would be to project Incursio Armor.

But Shirou didn’t want to.

He wanted to know exactly how strong he was without relying on Incursio.
He wanted to see if he could defeat her with his own unarmored strength.

If he activated the dual-layered Incursio Armor form, he could probably end the fight in three seconds flat—defeat Shana outright.
But that would be far too boring.

At least, that was how Shirou saw it.
There was no way Shana could keep up with the speed of his Thunder Breathing fused with dual-layer Incursio—she wouldn’t even have the chance to react.

“[Trace—On].”

A strange, scissor-shaped weapon appeared in front of Shirou the instant he invoked the words—and he hurled it forward.

Cutter of Creation “Extase”—a scissor-type Teigu capable of cutting through anything in existence, armor or otherwise.

Szzzzkk—!

The flaming claw shattered the moment it touched the blade, sliced cleanly in two.
Both halves split apart, surging past Shirou on either side, waves of blistering air washing over him.

The searing heat was far from pleasant.

Thankfully, he wasn’t too close to the flames—his body escaped without serious burns.

Dense steam erupted to both sides of him.

“What—!”

Seeing her Unrestricted Spell so easily cut apart, Shana’s eyes widened in shock—but her movements didn’t falter.

She wasn’t the type to freeze up just because her attack was countered.

If she did, Wilhelmina would have scolded her for it later.

The moment her spell was dispelled, Shana slammed her foot down hard, kicking up a fierce windstorm.

Flames surged again along Nietono no Shana as she lunged forward—once more charging straight toward Shirou Emiya.

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This is a fan translation of 卫宫士郎不想加班 by 此世无存. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!