Chapter 44: Ash and Stone

Keal looked at Shirou, who stood hunched over, body covered in bruises and burns, his breathing heavy. His tattered clothes clung to his sweat-soaked skin, and blood trickled down the side of his face. But instead of showing anger or panic, Keal laughed—a deep, low chuckle that echoed through the crumbling chamber.

"I'll admit," he said, brushing dust off his cloak, "I underestimated you. That won't happen again."

Shirou wiped blood from his lip and cracked a smirk. "I seriously doubt that."

Without another word, Keal raised his hand to the ceiling.

"Earth Release: Landslide Surge!"

The stone floor rippled like water. Massive slabs of earth erupted upwards, transforming the battlefield into a maze of jagged walls and trenches. Shirou's eyes sharpened—no time to hesitate.

With a burst of speed, he dashed toward one of the walls, using his momentum to scale it mid-run. "Ashbringer: Blazing Crescent!"

His flaming blade sliced through the air, unleashing a flaming arc toward Keal. But the slash was intercepted—stone walls surged up between them in a synchronised dance of defence, halting the attack in its tracks.

Shirou narrowed his eyes. "Tch."

He didn't stop moving.

"Ashbringer: Inferno Surge!"

He raised the sword high, flames gathering at its edge—but the ground beneath him quaked violently, throwing off his balance. The vortex of fire veered off-course, slamming into the ceiling and exploding into molten fragments.

Chunks of flaming debris rained down. Shirou barely managed to land on his feet before a wall of rock slammed into his left side, sending him flying.

The impact crushed him against the far wall with a sickening crack. Pain exploded through his ribs as he collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood. Dust filled the chamber, obscuring his vision, but Shirou forced himself up, staggering as stone shifted beneath his feet.

Kael stepped out from behind the walls, arms still raised, his movements slow and commanding. "You're fast," he said, amused, "but speed means nothing without footing. That's where I hold the advantage."

The ground responded to his will, twisting, buckling, preparing to trap Shirou where he stood.

"This is the difference between us," Keal continued. "I don't fight on the battlefield. I am the battlefield."

But just as the stone beneath Shirou's feet coiled to strike—

Crack!

Lightning erupted from his body, a blinding flash followed by a sonic boom. His reflexes flared to life, instincts overriding the pain.

He shot forward in a streak of light, his foot barely touching the shifting terrain as he weaved through Kael's stone forest.

"You talk too much," Shirou said coldly.

Ashbringer ignited in his hands, flames swirling in a vortex along the blade's edge.

"Ashbringer: Inferno Surge!"

But this time, the vortex didn't aim at Keal. Instead, it struck the floor beneath him.

BOOM!

A massive explosion tore through the battlefield, blasting apart stone and earth. The floor cracked violently, splitting open as molten fissures spread in all directions. The room trembled from the force.

Kael's eyes widened as the ground beneath him caved in—but just before he could fall, layers of rock surged upward to support him.

"You can't win," Keal sneered, stabilising his footing. "And honestly? I'm getting bored. Let's end this."

He raised both hands.

"Earth Release: Rain of a Thousand Needles!"

From the walls, floor, and ceiling, sharp stone spikes erupted—then launched toward Shirou like a hailstorm of death.

Shirou reacted instantly.

"Ashbringer: Phoenix Burst!"

He swung his blade horizontally, unleashing a roaring wave of fire that surged forward like a blazing tsunami. The spikes melted or cracked on contact—but Keal moved again.

The land warped, diverting the fire upward and away.

When the smoke cleared, three Shirous stood charging at Kael.

Kael raised a brow. "Clones? No matter—I'll kill them all."

He thrust his hand forward. The remaining spikes hurtled toward them, impaling the first clone. It vanished in a burst of smoke. The second followed suit.

As the third approached, another sound echoed—a rush of wind from above.

Kael's head snapped up, but it was too late.

THWACK!

A blazing sword pierced down from the roof, striking straight through his chest—his heart punctured in one clean motion.

His mouth fell open in shock. "But… how? He's right there—"

The third Shirou clone vanished into the air, leaving nothing behind.

"A clone…" Kael whispered.

He looked up again, just in time to see a silhouette descending through the hole in the ceiling—the same one created earlier by Shirou's errant flame attack.

"You threw it from above the roof," Kael murmured, blood dripping from his mouth. "But… when?"

Shirou landed softly, his blade still glowing with residual flame. He dismissed it in a flicker of light, then resummoned it to his hand with a calm breath.

Kael's smirk returned, even as his knees buckled. "You used that flame burst to block my vision… so the real you could jump above the roof. That hole… it was intentional."

He coughed, blood staining his lips. "You jumped through that hole quietly… so I didn't hear anything breaking…"

Shirou rested Ashbringer on his shoulder. "Your problem is simple. You barely move during fights. That makes it real easy to guess where you'll be—without even needing to see you."

With one final slash, Kael's lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

[You have defeated Kael.]

[You have levelled up.]

Shirou exhaled, finally allowing himself to relax. "That was… kind of a tough fight."

[Selecting a skill from the opponent.]

His eyes lit up slightly. "Oh, finally."

[You have obtained Earth Release.]

[You have obtained the title Elemental Adept]

A surge of power rushed through him, like stone and soil now pulsed beneath his feet. Kael's mastery over terrain—what once made him an immovable juggernaut—was now Shirou's to command.

"And finally a title too"

But then, the floor trembled again.

Cracks spread across the chamber like spiderwebs, dust falling from above. Without its master's control, the underground hideout was starting to collapse.

"Tch… No time to test it now."

With a breath, Shirou gathered lightning around his legs and bolted through the crumbling ruins, dodging falling debris and leaping over ruptured paths. Kael's twisting stone tunnels tried to delay him, but it was too late—he was already adapting.

Minutes later

Shirou emerged from the tunnel entrance just as the ground behind him collapsed with a thunderous crash.

He stood there for a moment, staring back at the ruins.

"I really need a bath."

---

Some time later…

From within the rubble of the collapsed hideout, a dark figure slowly emerged. Dust clung to her cloak, and her eyes glinted with something vile.

She stepped forward, silent and composed, watching the trail Shirou had taken.

A wicked smile crept across the figure's face.