Compared to the stakes controlled by Vlad III, the stakes summoned by Shinji appeared somewhat weaker. Rather than stakes, they looked more like oversized nails sprouting from the ground, pillars, and fences.
However, Shirou did not underestimate these stakes because of their small size. He fully understood Shinji's plan.
These stakes covering the ground were not meant for direct attacks; they served a dual auxiliary purpose.
The first function was to alter the terrain to block Shirou's elusive footwork.
The second function targeted Shinji himself. Crying Warmonger is a Noble Phantasm that converts damage into magical power, recovery ability, and explosive power for the user. For someone wielding this Noble Phantasm, moderate damage not only does not hinder their actions but also provides benefits, such as piercing their feet.
Shinji intended to use this self-destructive method to strengthen himself. Although he would endure both physical and mental pain, these pains paled compared to Scáthach's Body Control training and the blow of losing Justeaze. As long as he could kill Shirou in front of him, he was willing to endure any amount of torture.
With a hand seal, the increasingly potent magical energy stored within Shinji's body continuously poured into the Azure Cloud Sword, turning the entire altar into a sea of flames.
Meanwhile, Shinji, with bare feet, charged towards Shirou.
Every time he was pierced by a stake, every time he was burned by flames, Shinji would gain magical energy. Some of this energy would be used for self-recovery and enhancement of his attributes. The excess energy would support his Noble Phantasm and Mana Burst skill.
In this way, Crying Warmonger achieved a balance between input and output. It would not cause him to transform into an abomination and self-destruct as Spartacus did due to excessive magical energy, nor would it cause him to become incapacitated due to massive magical energy consumption. No wonder Shirou praised:
"There are no useless Noble Phantasms, only incompetent Servants. In this regard, you are much better than Vlad III and Spartacus."
As for why Shinji possessed the Noble Phantasms of two defeated Servants, Shirou could guess the reason.
Justeaze used the Lesser Grail as a medium to cast the Incarnation spell on Shinji. The Lesser Grail itself did not have enough magical energy to support this spell; the only fuel available was the Servant Souls stored within it.
In other words, Shinji's body at this moment was composed of the Lesser Grail and the souls of Vlad III and Spartacus. With this premise, borrowing their powers became possible.
Indeed, as Shirou guessed, Shinji's Incarnation was due to directly merging with the Lesser Grail, along with the Servant Souls stored within it.
According to Justeaze, once the physical body was completed, the Lesser Grail's function of binding souls would cease to exist, and Spartacus and Vlad III would be liberated. This was also why both agreed to help Justeaze complete this spell.
However, before their liberation, Shinji made a deal with them: "Lend me your power, and I will defeat Amakusa Shirou Tokisada."
The two Servants agreed without hesitation.
Spartacus sought rebellion against oppressors, and now that Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had become the supreme ruler holding the Greater Grail, Shinji's rebellion against him naturally garnered Spartacus's support.
Vlad III, on the other hand, had fallen directly to Amakusa Shirou's blade, his wish shattered. For this tyrant, this was intolerable. Previously unable to seek revenge, now given the chance, he would not let it slip.
However, both Servants had already retired and lacked their classes and Servant bodies, making direct assistance impossible. Shinji could not also recreate their Servant bodies for their resurrection.
In the end, the two Berserkers chose the most extreme method: they completely disintegrated their remaining existence and transferred all their power to Shinji, allowing him to gain the strength to contend with, or even defeat, Shirou.
Shirou's strength lay in his skills and experience, the dual mastery of katana and footwork, capable of unleashing Noble Phantasm-level attacks. However, as a Servant, Shirou's physical abilities were fixed, with attributes unchanged since his summoning over sixty years ago:
Strength: C, Endurance: C, Agility: B, Mana: A, Luck: B, Noble Phantasm: D.
Honestly, these attributes were not impressive; even Shinji surpassed him, let alone the top-tier Servants like Artoria, Karna, and Siegfried.
This was Shirou's weakness and Shinji's only chance for victory.
Shinji could not match Shirou in skill, not even for a hundred years. Since acquiring various Noble Phantasms, Shinji was destined not to specialize in one path to its ultimate end.
He could only compensate in other areas, such as equipment and physical attributes.
In the Fourth Holy Grail War, Gilgamesh fully demonstrated the advantage of equipment and how having multiple Noble Phantasms allowed for overwhelming dominance.
In this Holy Grail War, Spartacus fully showcased what overwhelming strength meant and how, in the face of absolute power, skills were rendered insignificant.
Now, Shinji aimed to become both Gilgamesh and Spartacus. Perhaps he could not reach their heights, but if he could combine their strengths to a level capable of killing Shirou, it would be enough.
With the Azure Cloud Sword, flames filled the sky.
Blood-stained stakes covered the ground.
The Harpe, like a bone-attached maggot, relentlessly pursues.
Although he endures pain at all times, this pain is the necessary path to victory and revenge.
With each step, each time he is scorched by flames, he feels himself growing stronger.
Strength, endurance, agility, magic, all attributes, his entire body.
Starting from an already peak B, he soared to A and continued to rise, eventually breaking through the limits defined by the panel and reaching an immeasurable EX.
It was truly an extraordinary, superhuman body, where every move caused the ground to shake. If Semiramis had not reinforced the entire space with magic, it would have long been torn apart by Shinji.
Even so, the altar used to house the Greater Grail had already been half dismantled by Shinji's sheer power, and Shirou's situation was becoming increasingly perilous under the growing ferocity.
Honestly, having fought to this extent, Shinji genuinely admired Shirou.
Yes, admiration, unrelated to grudges or preferences, just pure respect for a strong opponent.
Relying only on relatively low basic attributes (compared to a Servant) and a single katana, he managed to hold on until now. His incredible techniques repeatedly opened everyone's eyes.
No place to land due to stakes everywhere? No problem, as long as he doesn't step on the tips, he can still move and use his body techniques.
Fiery wind everywhere? No problem, the katana enchanted by Shakespeare can also release wind and fire, countering each other. Moreover, Shirou's control over wind and fire when wielding the sword was superior.
Lack of strength? No problem. No matter how strong, it's impossible to be uniformly strong. Attack the weaker points. If one strike isn't enough, then layer multiple strikes. If that doesn't work, he can deflect and redirect the force.
Shinji had been forced to channel his strength into the ground more than once this way, destroying the stakes he had set up. Each time, Shirou would use the firm ground to adjust his stance.
At this moment, Shinji truly understood what extremity meant. It wasn't just about Noble Phantasms, but also the accumulation of everyday details.
However, since he killed Justeaze, there was no room for reconciliation between the two.
As Shinji truly attained a superhuman body and absolute strength, Shirou's absolute technique was finally breached.
You have unpredictable, elusive movements; I have EX-level agility. No matter where you appear, I can catch up.
You can strike the weak points of strength; even my weakest point can overwhelm you.
You can use minimal force to deflect great strength; what about enormous force? Tens of thousands of pounds?
No matter how you change, I will crush you like a mountain.
I, Matou Shinji, today will rely on attributes and equipment to crush you!
It's that unreasonable, that brutally simple, yet the simpler and more brutal the method, the more unsolvable it is.
And that's why he chose not to bring any companions. The fiery wind stakes don't distinguish between friend and foe, and the stronger the force, the harder it is to control his body. The more his movements become distorted, the easier it is to harm his companions.
Only a solo battle can avoid this situation. As for the flaws brought by distorted movements, Shinji didn't care. The stronger the force, the greater the body's recovery ability. If you have the skill, come and strike.
As long as his head is not severed or his heart pierced, Shinji doesn't care about other injuries. To prevent this, he specifically retrieved Athena's shield.
With this, Shirou's situation became even worse. Previously, the gap was too large, and one heavy pressure could be ignored. But now, the gap has been closed, and even a slight weakening could lead to fatal consequences.
Finally, the now humanoid dragon Shinji caught Shirou during a Reduced Earth, his entire body's magic power erupted like a landslide and tsunami, pressing down together with the Scythe.
"Die——!!!"
This strike contained all the magic power Shinji could muster, its unprecedented power unstoppable by Shirou alone.
And Shirou didn't intend to block it. Before the scythe blade hit, he made a very simple move—he raised his left hand.
Immediately, a powerful magic force suddenly attacked from the side, sending the unprepared Shinji flying.
Shinji rolled on the ground, the anger and hatred in his eyes growing fiercer.
He didn't need to see to know where that magic power came from. It was the most familiar magic power of the Greater Grail, the colorless magic power of the same origin as Justeaze.
Since their encounter, this magic power had always been by his side, supporting and protecting him.
And now, this magic power had fallen into the enemy's control and became his foe.
Feeling Shinji's gaze, Shirou took a leisurely breath.
"Don't look at me like that. You have a lot of Noble Phantasm, a sword, a shield, and a scythe. What's wrong with me borrowing some external power? Didn't I just say? There are no useless Noble Phantasms, only incompetent Servants. Noble Phantasms are not about ranks but about their use. You use your Noble Phantasms better than Vlad III and Spartacus, and of course, I use these hands better than Amakusa Shirou Tokisada—Left Hand - Xanadu Matrix, activate, connect to the Greater Grail, magic power cluster continuous projection."
With Shirou's chant, specks of light appeared around the Greater Grail, each containing high concentrations of colorless magic power. The magic itself had no properties, but the impact of the projection was comparable to laser weapons.
In an instant, Shinji's increasingly powerful yet uncontrollable body was riddled with over a dozen holes. Although these wounds were immediately repaired, Shirou completed another round of chanting at this moment.
"Right Hand - Safety Shutdown: Right Arm - Space Isolation."
In a flash, the previous layout of wind, fire, earth, and stakes was broken, replaced by a vast space filling the vision and continually expanding. Compared to this space, the two anti-army Noble Phantasms seemed insignificant.
This bizarre scene was beyond Shinji's comprehension. He had no idea how Shirou achieved this. For the first time since the start of the battle, he didn't take the initiative to attack but switched to defense.
"With this, there's much more room to maneuver. Don't look at me like that. This space was structured by Semiramis, not me. I just used my right hand to extend the folded space. Consider it a little understanding of space manipulation."
"A little understanding! You can already perform dimensional leaps and dimensional distortions, and you call that a little understanding. Semiramis has a little understanding of magic, and you have a little understanding of space manipulation. You are a family, aren't you?"
If it were normal times, Shinji would have retorted like this, but now he had no mood for it. He just withdrew his mental power controlling the Azure Cloud Sword and Kazikli Bey. With the space extended, the attack range of the two Noble Phantasms was insufficient to complete the task of blocking and restraining. Instead of wasting his already strained mental power, it was better to focus solely on controlling his body.
At this moment, Shirou finally displayed the aura that a Saint should have.
"After being suppressed by you for so long, it's my turn to attack. Let's start the second round—I enhance my body with a Command Spell!"
With a flash of red light, Shirou's basic attributes rose comprehensively. He had long been prepared to make up for his shortcomings. It's just that no one had forced him to this point until now.
Taking a step forward, the posture of stepping was one Shinji had seen before, the prelude to Lightless, Three-Stage Thrust—a step beyond sound.