Chapter 177: Episode 4 - The Hollow Of Shrine (7)
"That really scared me. Are you a cat?"
In the video, Aozaki Touko rushes over from a distance and sees Ryougi Shiki, who had just jumped down from the second floor.
Based on her judgment as a mage, Touko anticipated that something would happen tonight, so she stayed at the hospital and even set up a barrier. However, to her surprise, the spirits managed to force their way through using a physical body, rendering all her methods useless.
Now, to resolve the situation, Aozaki Touko decides to use her magecraft to destroy the body controlled by the spirits.
However, despite the flames Touko unleashes, the dead are completely unaffected.
"Tch, what a hassle. If it were a living person, I'd just need to burn the heart, but that won't work with the dead. Since they're already dead, even losing an arm or head won't matter. To deal with this, you either need cremation-level firepower... or a skilled monk."
"In other words, you can't handle it, right?"
Faced with Ryougi Shiki's mocking, Aozaki Touko wanted to argue, but in the end, couldn't say anything. This was, indeed, beyond her abilities.
In response, Ryougi Shiki suddenly spoke up:
"Dead or not, it's still a living corpse, right? If that's the case—no matter what it is, I'll kill it for you."
With that, Shiki gently untied the bandage covering her eyes and, with a single cut, sliced off the long hair that had grown during her two years of slumber.
The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception were now fully exposed in the darkness.
"Boom!"
In an instant, Shiki, having resolved to fight, engaged in battle with the undead.
In their fierce exchange, Shiki, using only her bare hands, nearly destroyed the corpse entirely.
However, she used so much force that her fingers were slightly fractured.
"Shiki!"
Seeing this, Aozaki Touko tossed her a short sword.
Shiki immediately used it to sever the corpse's body, but...
"No, it didn't hit the real target!"
As Touko's words fell, a thick white mist erupted from the corpse the moment Shiki struck, surging into the girl's body.
"——"
In an instant, the girl collapsed.
"Did you hold back too much at the end? Idiot."
Aozaki Touko sighed helplessly and prepared to step forward to help.
But Shiki stopped her with a glance and gripped the short sword with both hands, aiming the blade at her own chest.
"This time, you're not getting away."
Murmuring, the girl seemed to stare at the death of something within her.
"I'll kill the weak version of myself. I won't let you have Ryougi Shiki."
With those words, Shiki plunged the blade into her own body, completely eradicating the spirit inside her.
.....
The fierce battle finally came to an end, leaving the audience thoroughly satisfied.
Although the combat scenes in Kara no Kyoukai aren't as flashy as those in Fate/Zero, they still carry a unique sense of urgency. The battle between humans and the undead has its own distinct charm, not to mention the protagonist, Ryougi Shiki, whose beauty and cool demeanor captivated everyone.
At this moment, the vast majority of viewers had been completely won over by Ryougi Shiki, falling for the film's main character.
"Ryougi Shiki is so cool. Even though she's a woman, she's still incredibly dashing!"
"Yeah, her design leans toward androgyny, without deliberately favoring either side. She combines the best traits of both men and women, making her the kind of character that appeals to everyone, regardless of gender."
"Exactly, she exudes such a heroic aura."
"Even as a woman, I think I might be in love with her."
"Don't compete with me—Ryougi Shiki is my wife!"
"Weren't you just shouting that Saber was your wife in the theater?"
"Well, the joy of having multiple wives is something you just can't understand!"
"…"
Discussions like this echoed throughout various TV taverns, with the audience now fully relaxed, as it was clear that the story was nearing its conclusion.
Seated in one of the taverns was the emperor, along with his knights, who had also begun to unwind and engage in conversation.
"Have any of you ever fought against the undead before?"
At Emperor Hubbard's sudden question, the knights all shook their heads.
After all, dealing with undead, which are non-corporeal entities, is usually best left to priests and mages. No matter how powerful a knight's slashes are, they tend to be ineffective against spirits.
However, General Wilhelm, who had served the empire for many years, nodded and said:
"I once ventured into the Chaos Realm, and during that time, I encountered undead there. To be honest, they were a real headache. Neither sword strikes nor energy attacks had any effect on them."
"Oh? So how did you deal with them?"
Everyone perked up upon hearing this, including the orc prophet sitting in the distance, who had been contemplating the deeper meaning of the film.
After all, both knights and orcs are generally at a disadvantage when fighting the undead. Without the use of magic, they typically have no way of dealing with such creatures.
Faced with their curiosity, General Wilhelm could only smile wryly and say:
"I wouldn't exactly say I 'dealt' with them. To put it simply, though I couldn't do much to the undead, those creatures also had very little influence over the living. Back then, I was young and believed that sheer force could overcome anything, so I charged straight through their weakening aura, and eventually, they all just faded away."
"…"
The knights were surprised to learn that the usually calm and composed general had such a reckless side in his youth.
The orc prophet, however, was even more astonished. He knew full well that under the weakening aura of a group of undead, even the strongest orc soldiers would rapidly weaken and die.
This only reinforced how terrifyingly strong General Wilhelm, now the continent's most powerful sword saint, must have been, even in his youth. After years of honing his skills, his strength was likely now approaching the fabled sixth tier.
.....
In contrast to the cinema audience, who were mostly expressing their love for Ryougi Shiki and excitement over the intense battle, the mages of the Imperial Mage Academy had an entirely different focus.
"That was reckless. The first thing you should do when facing undead is to keep your distance, then catch them off guard with a Holy Light purification spell or a Mind Blast!"
"Do you think Ryougi Shiki is a mage like you? She doesn't even use magic!"
"That makes it even worse! She shouldn't be getting close to the undead so easily. If you're possessed by an undead, having your body taken over is the least of your worries. Your soul could be assimilated and become part of the undead."
"Exactly. Before the Mage Tower was established, plenty of capable mages lost their lives because they weren't properly educated on dealing with spiritual entities. Their souls were completely devoured."
"I have to say, that part of the story felt a bit... irresponsible. It could mislead beginners."
"Don't forget, Ryougi Shiki has the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. She's not just an ordinary person—no one's going to try and imitate her."
"That's true, and besides, knowing how to deal with spirits is common knowledge."
The mages continued their discussion.
For the mages of the Imperial Mage Academy, their understanding of what is considered common sense differed significantly from that of ordinary people, and thus their conversations reflected their specialized knowledge.
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