"Unlimited Blade Works!"

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"This strength and speed… not bad at all."Looking at the mountain spirit he had just obliterated, Riku smiled with satisfaction.

The Heaven-Piercing Legs had been modified by the system. Though they consumed stamina, they could be powered by various forms of energy too. Just now, he'd used spirit energy to drive them—and the results were incredible. He moved so fast it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.

The strength boost from the spirit energy wasn't bad either.

After all, he'd only used less than ten percent of his power just now.

"Time to go open that silver treasure chest."Riku shook his head and, after collecting the mountain spirit's remains, made his way a kilometer away to where the silver chest was waiting.

"Silver chests have way better drop rates than bronze ones. Let's hope it doesn't disappoint me."Staring at the treasure chest in front of him—gleaming silver, a clear tier above bronze—Riku placed his hand on it with anticipation.

In an instant, the chest popped open, and a brilliant orb of light emerged.

Ding!

Congratulations, host. You've obtained the Reality Marble spell: Unlimited Blade Works.

Unlimited Blade Works—from the Fate series—is a "Reality Marble" owned by EMIYA. It's what gives him power despite not possessing a Noble Phantasm of his own. This Reality Marble contains the concept of every sword. As long as he's seen the original weapon, he can copy it. Once a weapon is copied once, it's stored in the world, allowing it to be summoned even without invoking the Reality Marble, through projection magic.

"Unlimited Blade Works? I can't believe I drew that… Talk about a jackpot."Riku's golden eyes gleamed, clearly very pleased.

Right now, for someone like Riku who had raw energy but no real techniques, Unlimited Blade Works was a hell of a skill to pull.

He hadn't tested it directly yet, but his gut told him that if he converted his energy into mana, it'd blow EMIYA's output out of the water. Probably even leave Artoria in the dust. That meant he wouldn't be limited the way EMIYA was.

"Well, well. I sensed some spirit energy over here, so I came to check it out. And what do you know, I found something interesting."Just then, a cheerful voice sounded out, and Riku instantly tensed.

"Angel... No, Flugel—Jibril!"Riku looked up toward the floating figure in the sky, his heart sinking.

She had long, flowing hair shimmering like a rainbow, fluttering with the wind. Her features were flawless—gorgeous enough to ruin nations—and her skin was smooth and flawless like jade. Her figure was curvy in all the right places, perfectly proportioned like a goddess sculpted to perfection.

A face and body that would drive any man crazy.

But if anyone saw the radiant wings on her back, and the floating geometric halo beside her head—the mark of her race—they wouldn't think of her as a beauty. They'd freeze in fear.

Because she was born to kill gods. A weapon created by the mightiest of the divine races. Ranked sixth among all species. The symbol of death: Flügel.

And this particular Flügel was one of Riku's favorite characters from his past life—Jibril, the strongest of the "extra" individuals in the Flügel race.

Still, Riku never imagined they'd meet under these circumstances.

"Oh my, oh my~ You actually recognized me! Am I that famous now?"Jibril stared at him with sparkling eyes, her tone flirtatious and playful.

But Riku was in no mood to admire her.

The Flügel were living disasters—harbingers of death. And they had a weird obsession: collecting the heads of other species' leaders. Jibril especially liked acting alone and challenging higher-tier races for sport.

Normally, she wouldn't give a damn about random bugs passing by. But clearly, the powerful spirit energy Riku had just used to test his power had drawn her here.

Big mistake. Terrible luck.

That's how Riku judged himself. He never imagined Jibril would just randomly be in the area.

"But the most curious thing… is you."Jibril tilted her head, studying him with even more interest."You don't look like a spirit, or a beastman, or even a vampire. You kinda remind me of those tiny little creatures—humans. But no way a human could have that level of spirit energy, right?"

She looked at him like a scientist finding a brand-new lifeform. Her curiosity was practically overflowing.

"This energy… It's even stronger than most spirits."She suddenly gave a crazed smile."Ehehe~ Mister stranger, can I borrow your head for research? This kind of anomaly is a first for me!"

"Sigh… Can't you just let me go? I really do have something urgent going on right now."Riku gave a helpless shrug.

"Nope~! You're gonna be my newest specimen!"Jibril beamed. Her adorable smile somehow made her words even more terrifying.

At the same time, a pitch-black sword made of pure energy appeared in her hand. The spirit energy radiating from it was insanely powerful.

"Well… guess I've got no choice then."Riku took a deep breath and muttered grimly, "Trace."

The moment the word fell from his lips, light particles swirled in his right hand and instantly formed a luxurious-looking longsword.

"....."