To love a sword

Chapter 11: Meeting Finale

Beta read by Shigiya and Darklord331

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-Sainan-

Emiya was no stranger to fighting opponents way above his level. Monsters that could stand against entire armies for days and still manage to act as an immovable wall of power and might. For even after death the fear instilled inside the hearts of the thousands stopped them from going past a corpse.

God-like beings who could trample mountains and hold the heavens within the palm of their hands. Some who held speed beyond that of any man-made vehicle, ancient treasures of mass destruction that surpass most man-made weapons, and Noble Phantasms capable of removing an entire city from the face of the world in a single swing.

He fought such people countless times in the past, never coming close to what they were capable of doing. By no means was the entity known as Emiya able to be considered weak, but the Throne of Heroes held too many monsters for him to stand out at all.

Yet despite that, he still managed to keep up with many of such Servants in the past through the combination of his near-endless well of experience as a Counter Guardian which allowed him to predict certain actions and avoid or counter them in time. His magecraft allowed him to adapt to practically any enemies and bring out weapons suited to their specific weaknesses and finally his willingness to use every dirty trick in the book.

Clang!

Steel met steel, sparks flew as he used the flat side of Bakuya to deflect Zastin's sword, yet the strength behind it was enough to force his entire body off the ground and send him hurtling out of the spaceship.

"Shirou!" From the corner of his eyes, he saw Lala's panic stricken face, dread filled her being as she took out her flip phone and was about to use it to help her fiance. But was held back, as Maul and Smutts grabbed her hands and stopped their Princess from interfering.

"Lala, I told you to not interfere." Her father's stern voice came from a floating orb projecting a holographic image of the Emperor watching the fight with a laid-back attitude. "You brought this upon yourself, now bear the consequences of your actions by choosing this human as your protector. Let's see if he's truly worthy of the role and holds the capabilities to back up his words."

Lala's face turned red from anger and frustration at her stubborn father, she tried to break free from her guards but failed. Emiya couldn't pay attention to what she said afterward as her attention returned to Zastin charging at him with greater speed than what his subordinates had shown before.

"Haa!" The greatsword descended upon him.

With a calm face, he analyzed the attack, with his current body the skills accumulated as Heroic Spirit EMIYA remained intact but the body of his teenage years could not contest against a superhuman alien who could pick up and throw an entire truck-like Maul — no, stronger than the latter. Sure reinforcement shortened that gap but it was not enough to equal Zastin by any means. And unlike the alien who wasn't using a form of magic to strengthen himself… Emiya was dealing with limited Magical Energy reserves and stamina that would not last in a long battle.

Wielding a sword that surpassed the tensile strength of steel, using bones from a beast, not of this planet and further improved with advanced alien technology — he couldn't risk a full-on collision.

Magical Energy poured inside his legs as he dodged the sword at the last second, the blade cutting through a tree like it was butter before colliding against the earth and creating a mini crater.