As he made the announcement, Matou Shinji's state changed.
It was like she had transformed from a human into a god, or from a Dead Apostle into a True Ancestor. It was more like Scathach had freed herself from her own restrictions and stood on the top of the mountain as a godslayer.
This is an elevation of one's own status and an elevation of the scale of existence.
Both the momentum and the amount of magic released have been improved from quantitative change to qualitative change, and they can compete with Scathach in her prime.
This is Shinji's preparation.
He has not taken action since entering the Shadow Kingdom.
He watched as they dealt with the dead man's onslaught.
He was watching when the Vimana ascended into the sky.
He was watching when the fireworks were set off.
When the servants joined forces to besiege Scathach, he just watched.
Even at the end, when Scathach displayed her full strength and instantly killed all the servants, Shinji still had no intention of taking action.
Because all this was within his expectations and what he wanted to see.
He was observing, observing the strength of his master.
This master of ours is an outlier among the strong. No matter how strong he is, he will never slack off and will grow every day. If you use past impressions as a criterion for judgment, you are likely to suffer at a critical moment.
At the same time, he is also waiting, waiting for all the servants to die, collecting their heroic souls to make the Holy Grail in order to improve himself.
Whether it is the wishing machine or opening the door to the "Vortex of Origin", they are all additional functions of the Holy Grail. The most fundamental function of the Holy Grail is only one - the Holy Grail's reincarnation, spiritual breakthrough, allowing the servant to break through his own limitations and reach higher heights.
The same is true for humans.
The effectiveness of the Holy Grail depends on the quality of the Heroic Spirits. The five Heroic Spirits summoned by Shinji are all heroes of the highest standard, and the effect of the Holy Grail they created is unprecedented.
With it, Shinji can close the spec gap between him and Scathach, just like he said.
"This time, we are finally equal."
"That's true on the surface, but what about the reality?"
Scathach swung her double guns, creating circles of air vortices.
Shinji then raised his hand, and manifested a spirit sickle blade that was somewhat similar to the "Snake Hunting Scythe", but more gorgeous.
"Why don't you try and find out?"
"That's true. Let me see if you are qualified to be my equal!"
He fired both guns at Shinji's vital points like lightning.
The sickle blade flashed, and the two guns were held steadily with no less speed.
On the side of the sparks that were created by the collision between the sickle blade and the spear tip, Shinji raised the corner of his mouth and uttered two words: "How?"
"Not bad!" Scathach nodded slightly, "But, it's not enough!"
With a flick of his wrist, the tip of the gun moved horizontally a short distance. Combined with the previous trajectory of the two guns, a huge original rune was completed.
A fireball larger than the two of them combined immediately took shape. Don't forget that this is the Land of Shadows, not the mysterious and fading present world. This place still retains the environment of the Age of Gods, and the power of the original rune can be maximized.
"Yeah?"
As if he had lost the wrestling match, Shinji took a step back.
Where he had stood before, an ice-blue rune was shining brightly. It was the ice rune that was the opposite of the flame.
In an instant, ice and fire collided, creating a double opposition.
Seeing this, Scathach did not retreat but advanced instead, not only maintaining a high frequency of shooting, but also continuing to carve runes with the trajectory of the gun tip, stirring the flames.
In just a few seconds, the two guns flashed more than a hundred times, and the originally monotonous flames spread further, like a fire giant that once wreaked havoc in Northern Europe.
The Great Magic of the Age of Gods—"The Fire God's Embrace!"
Shinji was not to be outdone. While he used his sickle blade to firmly block the two guns, he cast a rune with each step, making the ice surface under his feet three-dimensional and layered, constructing a forest of ice.
The Great Magic of the Age of Gods—"Crystal Edge Seal!"
There is no doubt that Shinji's move has proved that he, like Scathach, has reached the highest level of rune user.
Coupled with the head-on confrontation with the Twin Guns, which ended in a tie, he is now at the pinnacle of both magic and physical skills, truly reaching the ultimate standard of Scathach's school.
The turmoil caused by the fight between great magicians was obviously much more terrifying than the simple fight between runes, but both the master and the disciple had no intention of retreating and continued to fight selflessly.
Experts compete for the top spot!
When two brave men meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins!
The two people who have already reached the top are fighting for that crucial advantage.
In ice, in fire.
At the tip of the gun, under the blade.
Use magic and martial arts.
Either big opening and closing, or small movements.
Because they have honed their skills to perfection, every movement is simple and crisp, without any redundancy, and full of pleasing beauty.
At first glance, it doesn't look like a life-and-death struggle, but more like a dance.
Dance of death.
Face to face, back to back, want to rush, pass by.
The man and woman had no idea how many times they had fought.
Until the sea of ice and fire was completely extinguished, and until the two people who were originally intact and decent were covered with wounds and could no longer maintain the high-intensity battle.
The master's spear pierced the disciple's abdomen.
The disciple's sickle struck the master's shoulder.
Despite this, there was still no pain on their faces, and instead they smiled at each other.
Scathach retracted her arm, and the magic spear she pulled out brought out a horrifying splash of blood.
"You have grown to this point. You are much stronger than I was back then."
Shinji used both hands to cut off the arm directly.
"You climbed up step by step, I took shortcuts."
"Taking shortcuts is also a skill."
Scathach's expression remained unchanged as she bent down to pick up the broken arm and put it back on the cut surface. In the blink of an eye, the broken arm was reattached.
"Honestly, I'm curious about how you managed to do this. After you became a magician, it became difficult for me to see your cause and effect."
"To put it bluntly, it's very simple. I have been to the 'Root Vortex' and have had many exchanges with Odin and other gods."
Shinji put his hand on his abdomen, using the information recorded in his soul to materialize objects and repair the damage to his body.
Realms and skills can also be considered as a kind of information, which can be obtained from the "Root Vortex". Many gods also have legends of granting wisdom or skills to others, such as Scathach herself, and Odin teaching runes to his gods.
How could Shinji, who could directly connect to the "Throne of God", not use such a resource? That was God, and even a pig could be turned into a Purifier, let alone Shinji, who had become a magician
In the past five years, Shinji's realm has improved by leaps and bounds. Even without relying on magic, he can tear servants apart with his bare hands and compete with Scathach in all aspects.
"Now, I can finally say that you are the best among all my disciples, no doubt about it. My choice back then was the right one."
Scathach was sincerely happy about her disciple's growth.
The once extremely immature little guy finally reached the top of the mountain, and stood shoulder to shoulder with her, overlooking the scenery below the mountain.
PS: The biggest advantage of those who are still alive is their potential for growth. The Master is not a lazy person like Merlin. In a sense, she is definitely the most terrifying woman in Type-Moon.
PS2: To answer the question of the book friends, it is better to add a limitation here, mainly referring to the monsters in myths and legends, and it is not a little bit. Uncle Hai did not have twelve lives, but he beat Poseidon and shot Hades when he was alive. What is the point of Dai Mao's sword flattening a city? The Star-made Holy Sword is fully opened, and it directly blows up the seventh-level king. Brother Fei of the Dragon Heart Furnace, releasing the Heavenly Demon Lost Fall is like drinking water, and it can be used at will. Needless to say, Shanshan, one drags seven, and still retains a terrible combat power - this is when he was alive, and he is really weakened after death.
PS3: Of course, a servant like Souji who is in poor health, or a non-combat servant like Tokugawa, will be stronger after death than when they were alive.