Shinji Matou at Your Service

A blinding blaze erupted into the sky, and a terrifying heatwave swept across the area. In an instant, a barren, lifeless zone appeared in the ominous black forest, as if it had been ripped away from this otherworld.

Taking out a pre-prepared green bottle of water-based fire extinguisher, Shinji expertly sprayed himself down before walking through the still-smoldering flames. He trod over the ground, scorched red-hot, into the heart of the fire.

This dead zone, devoid of life, was the safe area he had chosen.

After some time spent exploring and testing, he had roughly figured out the operational rules of the Black Forest.

Unlike the other Ancestors, the Forest of Einnashe had no intelligence; its actions were entirely driven by instinct.

Appearing once every fifty years, it devoured all life in its path during its movements as a means of feeding and digesting. The duration of its appearance depended on the amount of life surrounding it. In simpler terms, it came out to hunt when hungry and retreated to sleep when sated, only to return for more once hungry again.

The method of feeding was straightforward. All plants and animals within the forest were part of it; plants drained blood, and animals gnawed, leaving only bones behind. Conversely, as long as all animals and plants within a certain range were eliminated, the threat of the Forest of Einnashe would be greatly reduced. Although the forest itself had the powerful regenerative abilities typical of bloodsuckers, the reliance of trees on their roots still bought plenty of time. This allowed Shinji to take breaks, recover his stamina, and prepare.

The Forest of Einnashe was vast and constantly on the move, making finding the Crimson core without a map or markers a challenging task.

Thanks to Arcueid's information, Shinji was the first to enter the forest. However, after spending five days in the Forest of Einnashe, covering over 200 kilometers and consuming a large amount of his ammunition, he still hadn't found the Crimson Core. The only certainty was that he was getting closer to his goal—the increasing threat and aggressiveness of the forest's creatures made that clear. Shinji could feel the forest's attacks growing more intense and frequent, and his stockpile of ammunition was steadily dwindling.

"Only a dozen flamethrowers left, thirty incendiary bombs, not much explosive left either. I've got plenty of RPGs, but they're useless here. At this rate, I can last one more day at most. After that, it's just me. Sigh, Britain is a peaceful place after all; getting this much stuff was already tough. In the Middle East, I could've lasted another ten days, no problem."

Relying on a physique similar to those from the Age of Gods, Shinji ignored the scorching heat and sighed deeply. The pulsating forest at the edge of the fire was ready to invade and reclaim lost ground, leaving him little time.

"Should I rest in the little world for a while? Even though I can't see the outside from there, it's much more comfortable inside. With Arcueid, a natural incarnation, there, I don't have to worry about being cut off from the Great Source..."

While clutching his specially made backpack, Shinji calculated the forest's encroachment speed, weighing his options.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he immediately threw a grenade behind him.

With a loud explosion, a tree buckled under the impact and fell.

At the same time, a figure stumbled out, clearly caught in the blast.

Shinji, holding his backpack in his left hand and two grenades in his right, asked in a low voice, "Who's there?"

"The Magus Freddy."

The man, now covered in dirt and dust, boldly announced his name, exuding an air of casual confidence.

Despite calling himself a magus, his appearance was more akin to a swordsman. His light attire, the cold glint of his single-handed sword, and his stance all indicated a high level of mastery in swordsmanship, likely exceeding his time spent practicing magecraft.

The backpack slipped silently from Shinji's hand as his left hand moved to his waist, gripping the Thompson Contender—a sign that anyone reaching this depth wasn't to be trifled with, especially with a name like Freddy's, which Shinji had heard before.

Freddy was a powerful, unrestrained magus and an equally skilled swordsman.

His magecraft ranked among the top at the Clock Tower, and his swordsmanship was equally revered in the martial world, making him a formidable, battle-hardened opponent.

"You're after the Crimson Fruit too?"

"Isn't it obvious? Besides that legendary fruit, what else could draw us here?"

Freddy brushed the dust off his clothes, his every movement calm and confident, a reflection of his strong belief in his abilities.

"It's said there's only one Crimson Fruit."

Shinji's finger nudged the safety of his gun.

"So, only one person can claim the prize."

Freddy raised his sword, pointing it at Shinji's chest.

"Even if there were a second, I wouldn't let anyone else have it."

"Funny, I feel the same way."

A grin spread across Shinji's face, with a menacing edge.

"Seems like there's nothing more to discuss."

"Indeed, nothing to talk about," Freddy agreed, his smile a mix of noble grace and gladiatorial wildness.

"If we must speak, let our strength do the talking."

Before the words had fully left his lips, both moved in unison.

Shinji flicked his right hand, pulling the pin on the grenade, while his left hand whipped up the Thompson Contender.

Freddy, meanwhile, executed a rapid forward charge. He wasn't a typical academic magus; with extensive combat experience, he knew the strengths and weaknesses of modern weapons.

The advantages: power and speed. Not even someone of Freddy's caliber could outrun a bullet or withstand the penetration of a rifle round.

However, being slower or less durable didn't mean he was defenseless.

Modern weapons have their flaws: a single attack pattern and reliance on human operators.

Guns have a fixed firing rate and can only shoot in straight lines. Grenades require throwing, and the time from pulling the pin to explosion is also fixed. Given that these weapons require human operation, predicting their use isn't difficult.

As the saying goes: I can't outrun a bullet, but I can outrun your aim; I can't escape an explosion, but I can get out of its range before it happens.

Freddy embodied this principle to the fullest. Years of training made reinforcement magic second nature, and he could easily activate it without connecting to the Great Source. His mastery of air manipulation allowed him to precisely anticipate his enemy's moves.

The large-caliber bullet from the Thompson Contender was dodged with two quick sidesteps—one as Shinji raised his hand, and the other just before pulling the trigger.

The two grenades that followed were similarly evaded mid-air, with Freddy accelerating out of their blast radius, the resulting shockwave propelling him forward even faster. For a magus master of wind, this was a simple task.

In the silver arc of his sword, the free-spirited magus charged across the scorched land left by the incendiary bombs, closing in with incredible speed.