It's noon.
Judging from the literal meaning, it means that it is already noon.
Noon is one of the traditional Chinese time units, referring to the period from 11:00 noon to 12:59.
"Noon has arrived" itself does not have any specific meaning, but in a specific context, it will be given a special meaning.
In traditional Chinese culture, noon is the time when Yang energy is at its peak. Executing death row prisoners at this time can effectively neutralize the Yin energy at the time of their death, preventing them from becoming evil spirits and bringing disaster to the world. This embodies the core of Chinese culture of "harmony of Yin and Yang, and harmonious development."
Therefore, "noon has arrived" is sometimes used to mean "the time for execution has arrived."
In Kenneth's opinion, Kiritsugu Emiya's "noon" has arrived.
The columnar defense system he rebuilt had a defense power several times greater than that of a membrane-like system. He was sure that Kiritsugu's bullets could not penetrate his Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid.
After blocking the shot, it will be the damn rat's turn to be in trouble. He will let that rat know what the wrath of the Magician Lord is - Kenneth El-Melloi Archipelud keeps his word!
The reality is just the opposite, it is Kenneth who "has reached noon".
The magic power required to expand the mercury into a column is not comparable to that of a simple membrane. Each of the inverse spines twisted into the thickness of steel wire must be hard and tough enough to deflect bullets. To build such a defense, even at Kenneth's level, he must use all his magic power.
This is exactly what Kiritsugu hopes to see. His trump card "Origin Bullet" exists for this moment.
Origin, also known as 'chaotic impulse';. Conceptually similar to primitive instinct, and also similar to fatalism. All things, including life, have their direction (cause) at the beginning, and then they will inevitably develop in this direction.
For humans, this directionality will produce a primitive impulse, but it is still possible to suppress it with acquired personality and wisdom. However, since the origin is far away in the "root vortex", the directionality has been determined, so it is an absolute command at the core of all things, and it cannot be changed even if reincarnation occurs from generation to generation.
The origin is closely related to the nature of the magician. When the previous generation of the Emiya family determined the origin of the legitimate son who was born, they named the baby Kiritsugu because of the strange result.
When determining the "origin" of the newborn Kiritsugu, he was at a loss for what to do with the strange result, so he named the baby "Kiritsugu". Roughly speaking, it is a dual attribute of "fire" and "earth", and if it is classified in detail, it is a composite attribute of "cutting" and "combining". That is the soul form he was born with, which is the true nature of "origin".
Cutting (切) and combining (承) are slightly different from destruction and regeneration, because the origin of 切承 does not mean "repair". For example, the thickness of the node of a line that is cut and then combined will change. In other words, the act of "cutting and combining" will cause the object to undergo irreversible "deterioration".
Emiya Kiritsugu realized his "origin" when he was doing manual work. If it was an ordinary tool, it could be repaired if it broke. But once it became a precision machine, things suddenly became the opposite. The more he wanted to repair it, the more fatal the damage to the machine would be.
This is actually influenced by the "origin". Because if it is just an ordinary metal wire that is broken, the cut part can be connected to restore the original use. However, the same method does not apply to precise electronic circuits. It is not an item that can be repaired by just connecting it. As long as there is a slight problem in a certain line, the circuit will lose its function.
Kiritsugu made the most of this strange property, making it into a magic outfit and using it as his final trump card. He removed the twelfth pair of ribs on his flanks, ground them into powder, and then condensed them using soul engineering, and sealed them into sixty-six bullets as the core.
The bullet was named "Origin Bullet" and would materialize Kiritsugu's origin when it hit. If it hit a living body, there would be no wound or bleeding, but the site of the bullet would become like an old necrotic wound. The surface looked like it had healed, but the nerves and capillaries did not regenerate accurately and had lost their original functions.
Moreover, bullets with the function of conceptual armament will pose an even more serious threat to magicians.
The moment Kiritsugu's fatal blow touched the mercury spines, all the other spines closed up like flytraps, surrounding the bullet together. The dense cluster of tiny spines instantly turned into a single thick column, completely blocking the power of the bullet.
The Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid, which has the characteristic of free transformation, showed its power. The dense and perfect fluid manipulation magic technique was undoubtedly an ultimate skill that lived up to the name of the famous Archibald family.
However, the moment this magic trick was beautifully completed, Kenneth's fate also came to an end, and he never understood what was happening to his body until the end.
The bullet was twisted and shattered by the pressure of mercury. Just when Kenneth thought he had blocked his opponent's dying blow and it was his turn to deal with the damn rat, an intense pain spread throughout his body. His heart, lungs, and nerve network were torn into pieces in an instant.
Before a scream came out of his throat, blood spurted out, and the shattered nerves and incorrect movements caused the muscles all over his body to twitch, which looked like a funny dance to outsiders.
Relying on the fierce pressure, the high-density magic power circulating in the magic circuit suddenly began to run wild without paying attention to the circuit, and ended up destroying the practitioner's own body. When the Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid defended against der's attack, Kayneth suffered more serious damage than being hit directly by a bullet.
This is the more serious threat. When Kiritsugu's magic bullet is interfered with by magic, the impact of the origin in the bullet will seriously feedback to the magic circuit of the operator.
If the magic circuit of a magus is likened to a high-voltage current loop, Kiritsugu's bullet is like a drop of water. If a conductive liquid is attached to a dense electrical circuit, there is only one result: the loop short-circuits, and the uncontrolled current burns the circuit itself. This is the terrifying effect of the "origin bullet".
To stop the effect of the origin bullet, it is necessary to block the bullet completely by physical means without relying on magic. For this purpose, Kiritsugu chose 30.field sniper rifle bullets. According to the technological level at that time, only the armor of armored vehicles and higher-level physical defenses could guarantee complete invulnerability.
Just one shot, that alone was enough.
Kiritsugu dared to choose to use a pistol without a magazine and could only load one bullet. The Thompson Der, which could be called an evil pistol, was a magic gift set that matched the "Origin Bullet" in order to carry it as a pistol with the greatest physical destructive power.
So far, not a single "Origin Bullet" had been wasted. The bullets made from parts of Kiritsugu's body had completely destroyed the lifelines of thirty-seven magi, and now the thirty-eighth victim had fallen.
After his beloved gun had fulfilled its mission, Kiritsugu pressed his finger on the trigger and swung the long gun downwards as if shaking off blood.
The empty shell was ejected from the folding magazine into the void, falling onto the marble floor with a faint trace of gunpowder smoke.
Kiritsugu had no emotion about his victory. This time was the same as before, a successful guidance and a calculated conclusion, nothing more.
The lethality of the "Origin Bullet" depends on how many magic circuits the target has activated at the moment of hitting the target. Because it is the magic power of the caster that destroys the caster's body. This is fatal to Kenneth, who is constantly provoked to exert his magic power to the limit, allowing Kiritsugu to obtain the highest result he expected.
Kenneth fell into the sea of mercury that had returned to its original liquid state and spread all over the floor, his body twitching slightly. The powerful Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid had lost its source of magic power and could no longer function.
The former Lord El-Melloi has now become as harmless as a baby. His body no longer has the power of a magus, and he may not even have the functions of a normal person.
Although he would be killed sooner or later if he was left alone, Kiritsugu's principle was to give the fallen enemy a final blow. He switched the M950, which still had bullets, to burst fire and walked towards Kayneth, who was already like a living dead.
Shoot them in the head at very close range, and one of the seven pairs of masters and servants fighting for the Holy Grail will be eliminated.
Suddenly, a hand stretched out from the darkness and grasped the barrel of the M950.
PS: Okay, that’s the end of the long continuous chapters of the original book today. Even if there are more in the future, they will be sporadic and usually will not exceed one day.
PS2: Click to collect the recommendation ticket, oh la la la la.