Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 1043: Pride Flare

If you had to pick a favorite, most beloved character from the Type-Moon universe, the answers would be plentiful—almost equal to the number of named characters within the world. Each of Type-Moon's characters has their unique charm, and each has fans who love them. The only difference is the intensity of that devotion.

On the flip side, if you had to pick the most hated, most despised character—someone you'd want to kill—the answers would be fewer but still significant. Take, for example, Sieg, the Hero of the Holy Grail War in Fate/Apocrypha, or Professor Lev Lainur Flauros, the final pawn of the Burning of Human Order. Another prime candidate would be the protagonist of this story, Matou Shinji, in his incarnation within the Type-Moon universe.

For Shinji, the answer was always clear. From the moment he first set foot on the Moon, to the moment he crossed into this new world, his hatred had never wavered: The Serpent of Akasha, Michael Roa Valdamjong, the first major villain he ever encountered, a bastard he had despised since his youth.

Objectively speaking, Roa's journey is somewhat inspirational. Born during humanity's darkest period in the Common Era, when vampires ran rampant, Roa used his efforts to become one of the top magis of his time. He founded the Burial Agency and hunted Dead Apostles relentlessly, and even Dead Apostles of the Ancestor rank were no match for him. His achievements earned the attention of the True Ancestors, and he became one of the few humans allowed to enter Millennium Castle—the sacred land of the True Ancestors.

Later, out of selfish desire, Roa deceives the naive Arcueid Brunestud, stealing part of her power and turning himself into an immortal vampire. This act, however, triggered Arcueid's rampage, leading to the massacre at Millennium Castle. From a human perspective, this was beneficial. True Ancestors were the source of the Dead Apostles, and those who couldn't resist the bloodlust would fall, becoming what humans called Demon Lords.

Roa's scheme nearly eradicated the potential for the birth of Demon Lords. From that day forward, the True Ancestors, a race more powerful than even the gods, were effectively removed from the stage of history—a significant achievement. In any modern web novel, Roa's journey would undoubtedly make him the protagonist, eventually reaching the pinnacle of the world.

However, like and dislike are often subjective emotions, without reason or logic. You might like or hate someone for the smallest reasons, ignoring all other aspects of their character. Shinji was no different. He liked the innocence and purity of Arcueid, and as time passed, he liked her more and more. Naturally, this led him to despise Roa, the one responsible for Arcueid's 800 years of suffering, with an ever-growing intensity.

As Shinji had declared before the battle began, he had wanted to kill Roa for a long time. He had prepared for this moment extensively, running countless simulations, even having Arcueid reenact every past instance where she had killed Roa.

It's no exaggeration to say that unless Ciel were willing to accept the memories of her 17 previous incarnations, Shinji was the person who knew Roa the best in the world. Every tactic he employed, every word he spoke, was designed to manipulate Roa into making the choices Shinji wanted. Everything was based on his intimate knowledge of Roa.

Take, for example, his final attack: Cruel Sun. Though the name sounded grandiose, to Servants or Magus, it was merely a giant fireball. Only someone like Waver would struggle to deal with it—everyone else on the battlefield had a way to counter it.

But to a Dead Apostle like Roa, this attack was a mortal threat. The sun's suppression of Dead Apostles was absolute, even more so than their ability to nullify Noble Phantasms. Even without the blessing of faith, even in its weakened form, the concept of the sun remained an insurmountable force.

That's why Roa's screams were so wretched, while Shinji standing just a step away was still smiling.

Shinji didn't remain close just to gloat or play around. His true goal was to keep a close watch on Roa's soul, preventing him from escaping and reincarnating. Many, including Arcueid, had been unable to deal with Roa, but Shinji was an exception. Though not fully developed, Shinji's Magic was related to the soul. He could gather thoughts and collect faith, and naturally, he could restrain souls.

He didn't need much time—just a few dozen seconds. If he could bring Roa to Ryougi Shiki, she could sever the Lines of Death with a single swing of her blade.

"You say I'm unlucky? My Luck stat is A. The truly unlucky one is you."

Bathed in sunlight, listening to Roa's agonized screams, Shinji muttered under his breath, while the pure and powerful thoughts surrounding Roa layered upon each other. The moment Roa's soul was released, they would form an unbreakable chain, binding him.

However, before the chains could tighten, something else enveloped Roa's body.

A black, murky substance—not quite mud, but not quite anything else either—The Soil of Genesis, something that transcended the Dead Apostles, no, something that transcended life itself. It was the only thing capable of resisting the sun's absolute suppression of vampires, something that even surprised Arcueid.

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Not only did it cover Roa's body, but it also began to surround Shinji. Whether it was simply to restrain him or if its master sought to avenge Roa was unclear.

Nrvnqsr Chaos' greatest advantage was his ability to create a collective entity. Without activating Ionioi Hetairoi, Iskandar could only suppress Chaos' so-called main body, unable to stop a concept that even Servants struggled to shake off.

"Just like the Holy Grail's curse—another troublesome thing."

Faced with this familiar type of attack, Shinji clicked his tongue in annoyance. Before the murky substance could fully surround him, he jumped into the air, stomping on the ground as he leaped. His outstretched left hand pointed toward the descending sun, adding a little more fuel to the fire.

"Pride Flare!"

Immediately after, the sun exploded. The scene resembled a modern fuel-air bomb, though on a smaller scale. The resulting high temperature and pressure severely crushed the Soil of Genesis below.

Since it was impossible to suppress the concept, Shinji opted for a different approach: breaking through on a physical level. Unlike Servants, Dead Apostles lacked high resistance to physical damage. In this world, nothing was perfect—something strong in one aspect would inevitably be weak in another. The so-called [Pride Flare] was aimed directly at the arrogance of the Dead Apostles!

The explosion left a massive crater in the once-flat ground, and the black mud was scattered in all directions. However, no trace of joy appeared on Shinji's face, as his mental scan revealed that Roa was still alive. Nrvnqsr Chaos had sacrificed a large portion of his Soil of Genesis to preserve Roa's remaining body.

The scattered clumps of mud didn't merge back together but instead began to evolve on the spot, giving birth to new beasts, phantasmal creatures, and magical beasts, all of which rushed toward the airborne Shinji. They didn't seem like they were trying to rescue anyone but rather sacrificing themselves to buy time.

"Oh? Not bad. As expected of Nasu's official True Love Team."

Shinji glanced at the beasts being born around him, then looked toward Iskandar, whose side was gradually clearing of enemies. He couldn't help but sigh. In this short period, Iskandar's chariot had already run over Nrvnqsr Chaos' main body twice.

"But without the conceptual advantage, these abominations don't even matter."

Shinji spread his hands, and a new round of spirit particles began to gather.

A professional vampire hunter always has ways to deal with vampires.