Focusing his attention to his enemy, Shirou traced his weapon once more. He gripped them tightly in his hand and used Hirenkyaku to get closer.
He appeared behind the enemy and attacked with a slash.
But the enemy reacted faster and swung a fist toward him. Shirou raised his twin sword to block it, and it clashed with a powerful impact that sent a shockwave across the area.
The air vibrated with the sound of metal colliding against metal and sparks flew from where the blades clashed against his skin. It was like a sword was clashing with an armor.
"Hahaha! What's that, boy?" The hollow laughed at his feeble attempt, his grin widening. "Is this how humans attack these days? With a weak weapon like that?!"
Shirou didn't answer. He deflected his arm and kicked him in the chest, sending the large man stumbling backward.
Using this chance, he pushed forward, his feet carrying him toward the hollow at high speed, his blade slashing through the air with a cold and sharp sound.
He slashed, and he stabbed.
But it was all deflected by the enemy's tough body, his attack could only leave scratches on his body. It was as if his sword was useless against his body, a body of pure iron.
'He is so tough.' He thought as he jumped away from the enemy, his feet touching the ground once again.
A distance was created between them in the air. Before they knew it, the battlefield had shifted to an abandoned park with no one in it, where there would be no casualty in the fight.
A perfect place to fight without holding back.
The large man's laugh echoed in the empty park, and it sent shivers down his spine.
Shirou's expression turned grim and his lips curled up into a sneer. He relaxed himself for a moment as he assessed his situation. His eyes were sharp and cold as he watched the man carefully, not daring to let his guard down.
This guy is strong. Too strong for a normal man.
Not to mention, he had a sword strapped on his waist, so maybe he could use that instead of punching.
'This reiatsu is similar to Hollow. Could it be he's one?'
Everything from the man's hole, the sword, the bone mask, everything was similar to a hollow. But at the same time, something was off.
How could a Hollow look like a human?
Shaking his head, Shirou stopped his thinking and focused on himself.
When he did so, he saw a red ball coming right toward him. It was pretty fast that he almost had no time to react.
Boom!
Cloud of smoke appeared, covering Shirou's surroundings.
The man's laughter could be heard echoing throughout the place.
"Hahaha! How pathetic!" He exclaimed, raising his fist to the sky. "You can't even see my Bala coming at you! No one can beat Yammy Llargo!"
The cloud disappeared after a second, showing Shirou standing in the air with blue circuits running through his body. His clothes were burned slightly, but there was no damage on his skin.
Blut Vene, Quincy's defensive ability to block any external attack from harming their body. He managed to use it to defend against the attack at the last second.
He had a second of delay because of his unfamiliarity with it, but it was already enough to make his body as tough as armor.
The man's face twisted in rage upon seeing him unharmed.
"Bastard! How..." His face suddenly froze as he felt something wrong.
"How, indeed?" Shirou deactivated his Blut Vene and traced a weapon.
"I am the bone of my sword."
Red spear appeared in his hand—Gae Bolg. A Noble Phantasm that could always deliver a fatal blow to his heart with a 100 percent probability if he called its name.
The enemy was confirmed to be some kind of Hollow, albeit he was humanoid and had a Zanpakutou strapped to his waist. So, Shirou wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
Spinning the spear in his hand, he took a stance and dashed forward.
The enemy, who was now called Yammy, didn't expect him to suddenly close in. He was still in shock upon realizing that Shirou had survived his attack, and he couldn't react in time to block or evade the incoming spear.
He opened his eyes and roared. The spear was too fast for his eyes to catch up and before he could even react, the sharp tip pierced through his body.
Blood spurted from his mouth and the spear was stuck deep in his stomach, just inches from his heart. He managed to shift his body and avoid getting hit on his vitals.
Yammy growled, grabbing the spear and trying to pull it out of his stomach.
However, Shirou didn't give him a chance. He released the spear and jumped up, drawing Kanshou and Byakuya once more before throwing them down to the hollow's head.
"Bastard!"
Yammy growled and swatted away the twin blades, and then, he was greeted with a flying kick. His eyes widened at the sudden attack, but it was too late. His fist couldn't even reach Shirou as his body was thrown backward by his kick.
Shirou jumped up and grabbed his spear, following his enemy's trajectory and thrusting it to his heart.
But the Hollow roared and forced Shirou to stop with his reiatsu blast, blowing him away. Shirou flew in the sky, tumbling around until he managed to regain his balance. He looked down to see Yammy standing with his Zanpakutou in his hand. His reiatsu was increasing at an insane rate and the sky was shaking from its power.
Shirou was familiar with this sensation, this pressure and power increase.
"Die you bastard!"
A red beam of light was shot from his mouth—a condensation of pure reiatsu that destroyed everything on its way. The red Cero was too big to be avoided. It had a radius of a few dozen meters. If Shirou jumped away, he would just be blown by the aftershock.
So he did what he thought best at the moment.
"I am the bone of my sword."
Raising his hand, he traced the strongest conceptual shield he knew, and then, he called the true name.
"Rho Aias."
Seven pink petals bloomed beautifully, spreading its wings in front of Shirou and blocking the cero. The beam shattered the outer layer of the petals but couldn't even scratch Shirou in the slightest.
Yammy roared, releasing another blast of reiatsu to destroy the Noble Phantasm.
He didn't expect Shirou to be able to defend against it, nor that he would still be standing there unharmed. And he definitely didn't expect Shirou to counterattack him.
Behind the petals, Shirou gathered his power over the spear. Red light swirled around him as he called out the True Name.
"Gae Bolg!"
The spear turned into a beam of light as it flew at Yammy. While it didn't carry the sure death probability as it should be because it was thrown, its destructive power was greater than its thrust version.
Streak of light flew across the area, leaving destruction behind. Yammy screamed in agony as he was pierced and his left arm was destroyed, leaving nothing more than a bloody stump on his left side.
Blood spurted out of his body and the spear stuck to the ground behind him and exploded, causing massive damage to the park.
Gae Bolg disappeared as Yammy groaned in pain, holding his wounded side.
Shirou descended to the ground and watched Yammy with a cold look. He was ready to trace another Noble Phantasms in case the Hollow attacked.
Yammy glared at him, gritting his teeth and roaring with rage. "Bastard! How dare you do this to me!"
He stood straight with a pained look, blood still flowing out from his left arm.
How dare he do this to him?
"Someone who was about to kill many innocent people has no right to say that." Shirou replied.