IBHJ 1009 (Patreon)

Reddish-black mud crept across the ground, turning into flowers as it spread, forming a stunning floral path. From above, it resembled a crimson carpet meticulously laid out, as if in anticipation of an important arrival.

Shirou walked along this flowery trail, his feet sinking slightly into the soft petals with each step. His eyes darted from side to side, taking in the eerie surroundings. Endless darkness stretched in every direction, a void so complete it seemed to absorb all light.

Scattered throughout this blackness were patches of swirling miasma, dark and foreboding. These dark waves churned and rose like a turbulent sea, their movements erratic and threatening. They appeared to reach for Shirou, as if trying to swallow him, but were consistently repelled by the flowers lining his path.

He moved forward like a sacred being entering hell, alone in this pitch-black void where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

He knew exactly where he was - inside Manaka Sajyou's mind.

The pure white villa from before showed Manaka's innocence, while this endless darkness revealed her inner shadows.

She was that kind of person - as pure and bright as an angel fallen to earth, yet as dark and evil as a devil risen from hell.

This explained why she had kept Shirou in that pure white room instead of killing him. To her, Shirou was another "Arthur," and she saved her pure, angelic side only for "Arthur."

It was a disturbing lack of personality.

In a story, if Arthur were the protagonist, Manaka Sajyou would be a highly popular female lead, as this indifference to everything except the main character is a basic setting for popular yandere female leads. But in reality, Manaka was clearly a person with an incomplete personality, weak and pitiful.

So pitiful that she made one person her entire reason for living, willing to betray everything for him. This showed a lack of independence. In other words, she wasn't a mature, mentally sound woman, but a fragile girl drowning in her own fantasies.

With Shirou's current insight and experience, he could see through her true nature easily. This was also why he could hurt her without much difficulty.

...

All around was pitch black, with terrifying miasma falling softly. The strange reddish-black flowers kept the miasma at bay. These flowers were evil, dark buds full of malice, but now they were doing the good job of protecting Shirou.

This was Manaka's mind. She had trapped "Arthur" here so he would always belong only to her heart, but in doing so, she had given Shirou a chance to see the Lord of Salvation.

He felt that shake, the absolute evil within "Evil" was also fluctuating slightly, sending out excited signals. No doubt, the connection between the Lord of Salvation and Manaka was here.

He walked faster, and the flower path under his feet quickly grew ahead of him.

Every path was always like this, not given by heaven, but made by people themselves.

New shapes appeared in the darkness around, looking like see-through bubbles. Shirou looked around and saw people and shadows inside these bubbles.

One bubble showed a young Manaka learning magecraft from her father. Another bubble had Manaka telling bedtime stories to her little sister Ayaka. She sat on the edge of the bed, talking animatedly while her sister listened, hugging a stuffed toy.

The older sister's talent and brilliance shone brightly. These were memories of Manaka before she met "Arthur", but she had put these memory bubbles in this endless darkness.

Between "self" and "Arthur", she picked "Arthur" and gave up "self".

Why did she do this?

Shirou couldn't understand because he wasn't that kind of person. If he had to choose between himself and others, he would always choose himself.

Maybe, like Kirei Kotomine, she didn't really feel anything for the world or for the happiness people talked about. But when she met "Arthur," she felt real happiness for the first time. So she chased that one true feeling and, in the end, like Kirei Kotomine, fell into endless suffering.

Compared to Kirei, she was lucky because she met "Arthur"; but then again, she was also unlucky and unfortunate because she met "Arthur."

Shirou walked deeper into the darkness.

The miasma around him started to spin as if caught in a wind, forming a whirlwind that grew sharp and forceful. It twisted faster, gaining momentum with each rotation. The dark mist lashed out, ripping apart the approaching bubbles of memory one by one. Fragments of forgotten moments scattered into the abyss, dissolving into nothingness.

His face turned serious. He knew he was getting close.

Close to the source of connection between the Lord of Salvation and Manaka, and also close to the most dangerous thing in this world, something that could kill him. But he kept walking quickly towards the depths, bravely moving into that darkness.

At the end of that path, he stopped.

He had to stop because in front of him was a huge, impossible-to-describe whirlpool.

A Dark Vortex.

"Found it!" he exclaimed.

He had found it, he had finally found it.

This whirlpool, this Dark Vortex, was the real form of the Dark Vortex he had absorbed and assimilated with his black mud at the Shinjuku Connection Point. It was also proof of the connection between the Lord of Salvation and Manaka Sajyou!

As if it knew he had arrived, the Dark Vortex started to churn wildly. Then, a strange, jumbled voice echoed from deep inside Shirou's heart.

"—Tethys!"

...

Gilgamesh was an incredibly strong fighter, but Brynhildr was no pushover either. One was the human king who had separated mankind from the gods in an era teeming with magical beasts, while the other was a Scandinavian war goddess, daughter of Odin himself, now empowered by Manaka Sajyou. For the moment, they seemed evenly matched.

"Come on, Archer!" Fujimaru complained. Then he turned to Misaya, clearly annoyed. "Hey! Misaya Senpai, aren't you Archer's Master now? Do something! What good is hiding? Is this how a magus family's heir acts? You're not even as good as me!"

Misaya's forehead twitched with anger as she glared at him. "If you've got the guts, step out from behind Mordred and say that again!"

"I'd like to say the same thing," Mordred chimed in, turning her head. Her small face scrunched up in annoyance as she asked, "How long do you plan on clinging to my clothes? Eternal King wouldn't be this pathetic!"

"Even Eternal King had to start somewhere," the young man protested.

Mordred whipped her head back around, her cheeks puffed out in frustration. She didn't want to talk to him anymore. No, to be precise, both girls didn't want to talk to Fujimaru anymore. They had a feeling they couldn't win an argument with this guy.

Suddenly, a beam of black light shot into the sky from afar. It transformed into what looked like a falling meteor, streaking across the pitch-black night towards Gilgamesh.

Brynhildr glanced at it, quickly thrust her spear at Gilgamesh to push him back, then dodged out of the way.

Gilgamesh was about to give chase when he spotted the black comet in the sky. His eyes widened. "What in the—?"

He wanted to dodge, but seeing the young man and others below, he held his position. Dozens of legendary shields emerged from the Gate of Babylon, forming a barrier in front of him.

As the black comet plummeted, Gilgamesh finally saw its true nature. It wasn't a beam or a meteor at all, but an arrow.

An arrow with the power of a falling meteor!

The arrow plummeted, its dark form cutting through the air. It smashed into the shields with unstoppable force. A series of sharp cracks rang out, echoing across the battlefield as the legendary defenses shattered like brittle wood. Fragments of mythical artifacts scattered through the air.

The projectile struck Gilgamesh with devastating force, and a thunderous boom shook the air as his body slammed into the ground. The earth beneath him gave way, cracking like a spider web.

Misaya's eyes flashed with determination. She quickly cast a spell, her fingers dancing in the air. The magecraft took hold, steadying everyone's footing on the crumbling ground.

"Archer!" Fujimaru cried out.

"Silence!" came a muffled voice from the crater. "This king is the strongest Heroic Spirits. I won't exit the stage so easily."

From the center of the destruction rose a charred Gilgamesh. In moments, his appearance returned to normal. It was the effect of the immortality herb he'd consumed during his battle with Demonic Bodhisattva.

Though his life was restored, Gilgamesh's face was grim as he glared in the direction the arrow had come from. "That's no ordinary arrow. Few Heroic Spirits could unleash such power."

"If I'm not mistaken, that's the legendary hero from ancient Persia, Arash!" Fujimaru said, adjusting his glasses.

"Arash?" Everyone was stunned.

"Oh? You know of me, glasses boy?" A gentle male voice called out. They all looked to see an archer in black armor approaching.

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed. "Was that your arrow?"

"Hello there. You must be this Holy Grail War's Archer? I'm Archer from the previous war—Arash," he introduced himself.

"The legendary archer who can shatter stars and split the earth? Interesting." Gilgamesh crossed his arms, his face a mask of arrogance. But a flicker of caution passed through his eyes. Without the immortality herb, that last strike would have finished him.

Arash turned to his ally. "I'll handle this Archer. Brynhildr, you take care of the others."

"You think you can handle this Archer alone?" Brynhildr asked.

"No problem. All humans are my targets for destruction. He's no exception."

"Then I'll leave him to you."

Brynhildr nodded and rushed towards Fujimaru and the others.

"Such nonsense before the king... How arrogant! Death is all you'll receive!" Gilgamesh's eyes turned cold, his golden swords pulsing with killing intent.

But as he moved—

"Stella——!!"

Arash unleashed his "Ultimate Shot" at Gilgamesh. The air itself seemed to warp as the arrow flew. The strike, capable of shattering stars and splitting earth, tore through space. It struck Gilgamesh with unimaginable force, annihilating him instantly in a blinding flash of light.

Golden particles gathered in the air as Gilgamesh's body began reforming through his immortality. As his body solidified, he stared at Arash in shock. "Others might shoot down stars, but only this strike can shatter them. But... you can use it twice?"

"Not just twice." Arash's lips curved into a slight smile as his crumbling body began to mend, returning to its original state in an instant. "And don't worry, my Master has granted me immortality too."

Gilgamesh's expression darkened considerably. He had no defense against Arash's [Stella], but [Stella] had always been limited by Arash's own body.

Traditionally, using [Stella] meant Arash's body would collapse and die. This was Arash's ultimate limit. But with Manaka Sajyou's empowerment, Arash had transcended this boundary and, like Gilgamesh, attained immortality.

"You can't kill me, and I can't kill you," Arash smiled.

"You think I don't have a Noble Phantasm capable of destroying 'immortality'?" Gilgamesh's face was grim. "Your arrogance knows no bounds!"