Shinji Matou At Your Service

Chapter 270: Holy Nail

This strike was the strongest and fastest one Shinji had unleashed tonight.

This strike combined Shinji's physical strength, the enhancement of the relic, the amplification from gravity, and the instantaneous boost from the mana burst.

This strike, both in terms of timing and angle, was executed perfectly.

In Shinji's opinion, Riesbyfe could only block this attack, even though it was likely to put her at a disadvantage for the first time.

However, would reality go as smoothly as Shinji thought?

As the distance between Shinji and Riesbyfe grew closer, a vague sense of unease suddenly emerged in Shinji's heart, as if a great crisis was approaching.

Almost simultaneously with the sense of crisis, there was a faint clicking sound, as if some kind of switch was being flipped.

Before Shinji could even think about what could have made that sound, he saw Riesbyfe releasing the stance of holding the shield at the top. The shield, which was fixed on her left hand, retracted towards her waist. The pointed end of the gourd-shaped shield pointed downwards, with a circular opening at the bottom facing upward, as if she intended to strike together with her left fist.

Wait, the opening at the bottom of the shield!

Shinji's expression suddenly changed.

No, that is--

Accompanied by a loud impact, a pale green cone, with a diameter of over five centimeters, shot out from the opening at the bottom of the shield. It whistled as it collided with Shinji's strongest left hand.

The tip of the cone emitted an unusual glow, silently declaring to Shinji that his left hand couldn't block it.

This was Riesbyfe's conceptual armament, the true form of the Holy Shield Gamaliel. It was not only a shield engraved with holy words and possessing extraordinary defensive power but also a weapon with tremendous destructive power.

Beneath the peculiar gourd-shaped shield, there was a mechanism that housed holy nails made of sacred silver.

This holy nail, like the holy shield, is blessed by God, but not with "protection" but rather with "destruction" towards the targets it harms. Without exception, anyone injured by the holy nail will be marked with the concept of "destruction." This is one of the trump cards prepared by the Holy Church to exterminate vampires. Since being entrusted to Riesbyfe, many dead apostles have been marked with indelible scars by the holy nail and have even fallen beneath its power.

Now, this holy nail is aimed at Shinji.

Shinji knew that there was a mechanism hidden in the holy shield, and he knew that this thing had tremendous destructive power against dead apostles. However, after fighting Riesbyfe for such a long time without seeing her use it, he subconsciously believed that she wouldn't use it against him. After all, the two of them weren't fighting to the death. But unexpectedly, she unleashed it at the most critical moment, catching Shinji off guard.

Just because it's a weapon designed for vampires doesn't mean it's ineffective against humans. Moreover, the sensation the holy nail gave Shinji was similar to Diarmuid's Yellow Rose and his Harpe. It was likely to possess the property of causing irreparable damage upon contact.

The greatest reliance of dead apostles is their self-healing ability. Ordinary external injuries can be healed in a matter of minutes, and by suppressing this ability, most dead apostles are no more formidable than slightly stronger humans, even if they possess supernatural powers. That's why the Harpe has the alias of the "Undead Slayer."

If the holy nail has a similar effect, Shinji's left hand, at best, would become difficult to use, and at worst, completely useless. Although there are ways to treat it, none of them are easy. The best solution is to avoid being injured in the first place!

Under the pressure of the impending crisis, Shinji made a certain decision.

He quickly loosened his tightly clenched left fist, and a radiance completely different from Buddha's light and holy light converged beside Shinji's hand, rapidly solidifying into a tangible form.

This too was a shield, emitting an aura no less than Riesbyfe's holy shield—the Aegis, the shield of the wisdom goddess Athena!

As soon as the shield of Athena appeared, a resounding sound, reminiscent of a great bell, reverberated through the night.

The "holy nail" of the Holy Church versus the divine shield of the wise goddess Athena.

The air at the point of collision between the holy nail and the divine shield was like a lake disturbed by a foreign object, causing intense ripples. The outermost layer of the ripples spread to the ground, instantly tearing open a meter-deep gap, and the grass attached to the ground was shattered by the shockwave.

The confrontation between these two ancient and mysterious forces created a series of inexplicable phenomena that science couldn't explain.

After a clash that shouldn't have occurred in the modern era, the situation remained unchanged. Riesbyfe was still on the ground while Shinji remained in the air.

The battle between the two was like a battle between heaven and earth.

Shinji, using his Noble Phantasm at the critical moment, moved his slightly numb left hand. Although he managed to avoid having his left arm pierced, he also discovered the limit of the reinforcement from his relic. It could withstand ordinary swords and blades, but not divine weapons. Although his strength surpassed the limits of a human, it couldn't match that of a high-ranking Phantasmal Species like Bellerophon. Strength has its limits, no, even the power of the planet beneath his feet has its limits.

Shinji smiled casually, dispelling the Shield of Athena and switching to his feathered Shoes, hovering in the air.

"Miss Riesbyfe, that was a bit excessive just now."

If the holy nail had truly pierced through Shinji's palm, it would have meant that he would lose at least thirty percent of his strength, and it could potentially be permanent. That would drive anyone who desires strength mad.

If this straightforward Shield Knight hadn't shown even a hint of killing intent from the beginning to the end, Shinji wouldn't have simply brushed it off with a single sentence.

"Excessive?"

Upon hearing Shinji's words filled with coldness, Riesbyfe, who had just pulled herself out of the ground, looked up at the sky in confusion and then glanced at her own hands.

Hmm, no problem, no injury, and the holy shield...

"Ah—holy nail! I used the holy nail! Oh no, oh no, oh no, that's a weapon that can only be used in an execution battle! This is bad, this is bad, Cardinal Gessebarne will be mad! I will be in confinement!"

Shinji was dumbfounded by such a bizarre response. Fortunately, through their previous interactions, he had gained some understanding of Riesbyfe's thick-skinned nature, so he managed to maintain his balance and didn't fall from the sky.

To avoid further mental attacks, Shinji coughed heavily to show his presence.

"I say, let's talk about confinement later. Don't you care if I'm okay or not?"

"Oh, right." Riesbyfe realized belatedly, "Are you okay? If you're injured, you have to speak up. The injuries caused by the holy nail are difficult to recover from unless treated with another special conceptual armament."

Riesbyfe's sincere attitude and genuine reaction dispelled Shinji's last doubt. He descended from the sky and waved his left hand in front of Riesbyfe.

"Fortunately, I reacted in time and didn't get injured. Otherwise... hehe~"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Riesbyfe lowered her head apologetically, "I accidentally forgot that you're not the target that needs to be eliminated."

"Forget it, you didn't seem to do it on purpose. Just be more careful in the future." Shinji sighed.

Originally, this battle was Shinji's fault. If he hadn't hung Hideo Hayama on a cross for no reason, he wouldn't have provoked Riesbyfe. If he hadn't been curious about Riesbyfe's strength, they wouldn't have fought. With the feathered Shoes, he could have easily left. How could a "short-legged" warrior catch up to him?

More importantly, the gains from this battle had exceeded his expectations. It wasn't worth dwelling on a slight accident.