Kenneth's scream came from within the Volumen Hydrargyrum, his shoulder pierced by a bullet.
If not for the Volumen Hydrargyrum blocking most of the bullet's power, this strike would have created a fatal crater in his body.
Having achieved such a result, Kiritsugu Emiya was content. The opponent was completely hidden behind a barrier formed by Volumen Hydrargyrum, making his figure impossible to discern, let alone aim at.
Being able to hit was already extremely lucky, let alone expecting this attack to inflict a fatal wound.
Kenneth's painful scream quickly turned into hatred for Kiritsugu Emiya. With an angry curse, the Volumen Hydrargyrum transformed into a whip, delivering a strike filled with killing intent.
Facing the whistling silver whip, Kiritsugu Emiya didn't even activate Time Alter. With a few jumps and rolls, he easily and calmly dodged the attack from the Volumen Hydrargyrum.
For Kiritsugu Emiya, the Volumen Hydrargyrum's attack trajectory was very simple and direct.
After seeing it once, he had grasped the Volumen Hydrargyrum's attack characteristics.
Even though its attacks were very swift, this whip-like striking method was quite monotonous.
Kiritsugu Emiya once again used his submachine gun to fire, and the Volumen Hydrargyrum, in its automatic state, immediately stopped its attack and instantly transformed into a defensive film to protect Kenneth.
By the time Kenneth issued another command, Kiritsugu Emiya had already vanished from Kenneth's sight.
Seeing Kiritsugu Emiya disappear again, Kenneth's face twisted into the likeness of a furious lion, his eyes filled with rage.
Anger, like a raging fire, rapidly eroded Kenneth's heart.
As a first-rate Magus, Kenneth would not normally have his heart blinded by anger.
But everything he encountered today caused Kenneth's mental state to directly 'break down'.
In Kenneth's view, secret duels between first-rate Magi should be filled with noble 'gentleman's games'.
Both sides would set up magic, counter each move, calmly deduce the nature of the opponent's magic, and achieve victory through magical confrontation.
If it were like that, even if he failed, Kenneth would only feel that his skills were inferior. But Kiritsugu Emiya's actions made Kenneth feel that the opponent was not fighting at all.
Setting up despicable traps, using dirty methods to fend off enemies.
Someone like him doesn't even deserve the title of 'enemy'; he is 'trash' that contaminates one's vision.
He doesn't understand the meaning of 'magical duel'; he only uses underhanded methods.
Like a stray dog without a master, wild, dirty, and despicable.
Kenneth clutched his injured shoulder, watching the crimson spread from it.
"To break through the Volumen Hydrargyrum's defense with such a despicable method..."
"I was careless; that guy's attack is nothing..."
"I should use all my magical energy to activate a faster, more efficient automatic mode..."
"I will use all my magical energy; your attack method will not work again. I will catch you and make you understand what it means to wish for death!"
Kenneth clutched his injured shoulder, used magic to slightly treat it, and stopped the continuously gushing blood with magic, then immediately commanded the Volumen Hydrargyrum to carry him in pursuit.
Now was not the time for treatment; he was now eager to immediately capture Kiritsugu Emiya and end the battle, tormenting the opponent bit by bit, making him feel what it means to wish for death.
As a talented Magus with outstanding achievements, the head of the Archibald family, a first-grade lecturer in the Clock Tower's Spiritual Evocation Department, Kenneth, who had a smooth first half of his life, had never been so disheveled.
To be injured by a 'stray dog' like Kiritsugu Emiya, this was an absolute disgrace.
Kenneth suppressed extreme anger in his heart, roughly dealing with everything that stood in his way.
Whether it was a door blocking the way or a wall obstructing him, Kenneth vented his anger while rapidly approaching Kiritsugu Emiya through violent demolition.
Along the way, he encountered many simple traps set by Kiritsugu Emiya, all of which were neutralized by the Volumen Hydrargyrum's protective shield.
Landmines hidden under the carpet that would explode when stepped on.
Grenades linked by fine threads on both sides of the corridor that would explode if tripped.
Looking at these traps, Kenneth found it somewhat amusing.
Such traps, designed only to deceive children, were so ridiculous that Kenneth found them incredibly funny.
That laughter was both a mockery of Kiritsugu Emiya for only using such childish tricks and a self-mockery for being harmed by such naive tricks.
The self-deprecating laughter was like adding dry tinder to a raging fire, making it burn even more fiercely.
Through his contract with Lancer, Kenneth had already sensed that in the Servant war within the castle, Lancer had the upper hand, almost completely overwhelming Saber, and it seemed he could take Saber's head within dozens of rounds.
On the other hand, he himself was being played by Saber's Master and was injured.
The more Lancer gained the upper hand, the more enraged Kenneth became.
He had now cast aside the idea of taking Einzbern Castle with minimal loss; instead, he was determined to kill this little scoundrel, Kiritsugu Emiya, at all costs.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. When Kenneth quickly broke through walls through violent demolition to track Kiritsugu Emiya's whereabouts, he found that the Volumen Hydrargyrum could not detect the heat source emanating from Kiritsugu Emiya nearby.
Heartbeat, breathing, body temperature... all of Kiritsugu Emiya's physical characteristics had disappeared in the dilapidated corridor Kenneth was demolishing.
No trace of Kiritsugu Emiya's presence came from the rooms on either side of the corridor.
"Hmph, did he escape? But even if he flees to the ends of the earth, I will tear you to pieces!"
Kenneth scanned his surroundings, ordering the Volumen Hydrargyrum to expand its tracking range.
In Kenneth's opinion, this area had already been scanned by the Volumen Hydrargyrum, and no one would be staying here.
He never considered that Kiritsugu Emiya had used Time Alter: Triple Stagnation to slow his physiological functions to one-third of normal, allowing his body temperature to cool to a point where the temperature difference with the outside was negligible, like a cold statue, thus evading the Volumen Hydrargyrum's detection.
The Volumen Hydrargyrum, which judged whether there were enemy presences in the rooms, quickly withdrew from the room where Kiritsugu Emiya was hiding and, according to Kenneth's command, investigated rooms further away.
Kiritsugu Emiya, judging by Kenneth's footsteps that the opponent thought the area was empty, deactivated the stagnation effect of Time Alter.
Kiritsugu Emiya, having exited the Time Alter: Triple Stagnation state, immediately jumped out of the room and, facing Kenneth who was only three meters away, quickly opened fire with the submachine gun in his left hand again.
The Volumen Hydrargyrum once again transformed into a protective film, shielding Kenneth.
Feeling the metallic impact sound from behind him, Kenneth sneered, his guard never lowered.
A wounded lion is at its most dangerous, because it maintains sufficient vigilance towards its surroundings.
Kenneth was the same; even in rooms that had been scanned by the Volumen Hydrargyrum, Kenneth still kept a vigilant eye on his surroundings.
Kenneth turned around and coldly looked at the two guns in Kiritsugu Emiya's hands, a cold and twisted smile on his lips.
"I won't let you escape, and I won't kill you immediately."
"I will crush your fingers, wrists, arms, bit by bit. I will crush every bone in your body, then heal you, regenerate your body, and then deal with you bit by bit again."
Kenneth said sinisterly, and the Volumen Hydrargyrum beside him, in response to Kenneth's threats, extended countless whips, swaying and venting its master's anger.
Watching Kenneth spew insults, full of intense hostility, Kiritsugu Emiya secretly chuckled in his heart.
Everything was going as he wished; the plan was proceeding step by step.
Kiritsugu Emiya continued to fire with the submachine gun, continuing to lure the Volumen Hydrargyrum into a state of autonomous defense, then aimed the powerful gun in his right hand at himself.
Looking at the attack, which was almost identical to before, Kenneth's expression became even more displeased.
"You don't think your previous method will work again, do you? Fool!"
"Boil, my blood."
Kenneth immediately mobilized all the magical crests in his body to activate the Volumen Hydrargyrum's mercury defense form at maximum magical power.
This time, it was no longer a thin film, but countless thorn-like columnar structures rising from the floor to the ceiling.
Countless dense mercury substances, like a bamboo forest, stood before Kenneth, like an impenetrable fortress.
Facing such an ironclad defense, Kenneth was confident enough to block the bullets fired by Kiritsugu Emiya.