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Daji muttered a complaint about his lack of romance. Seeing Morrigan and Mordred glaring at her, and noticing Artoria's disapproving expression, she quickly sat up straight.

She had achieved her goal; there was no need to keep provoking them and get beaten up by everyone.

"However, Archbishop has already deployed the Wandering Star Warriors, yet you all have the time to bother a weak woman like me? How pitiful. sob sob." Daji pretended to cry, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief she pulled from her sleeve.

"Wandering Star Warriors?" Shirou looked puzzled.

"What's that?" Morrigan also looked at Daji in confusion. "There shouldn't be any NPCs like that in this game, right?"

"Of course not. They're giants created by copying Vanguard of the Umbral Star." Daji smiled and turned to Shirou. "Copied from your White Titan friend. I believe her name is...Altera, right?"

His expression hardened. "What did you do to her?"

"Such a frightening look!" Daji laughed. "But I didn't do anything. I'm a merchant; I do business with everyone. No matter how dirty my clients are, their money is clean in my hands."

"Altera..." Ayaka muttered, anxiously gripping Daji's shoulders. "Where is she?"

She had come to this Connection Point partly because of Manaka's influence, and partly because she wanted to find her Servant, her friend—Altera.

But the original Master-Servant connection had been disrupted by Mooncell's interference. Ayaka couldn't sense Altera or summon her with command spells. Learning from Shirou that Altera had transformed into a White Titan and gone berserk had filled her with worry. Now, hearing that Daji knew where Altera was, she felt a surge of anxiety.

"I can tell you where she is," Daji said with a smile. "But I have one condition."

"Surrounded like this, you think you can make demands?" Mordred scoffed, then glanced at Ayaka. "Besides, you've already given it away. Altera's with Archbishop, isn't she?"

Daji turned to Mordred with a smile. "Firstly," she said, "while I admit I can't defeat your group, I can still escape if I choose to. Secondly, Altera isn't with Archbishop, but with my companion. You won't find her without me. And thirdly, my condition is perfectly reasonable."

Shirou looked at her intently. "So you're not running because you're using us to hide from someone?"

Everyone stared at him in confusion. Daji was hiding from someone?

Who could be powerful enough to frighten Beast V?

A Grand Servant, perhaps? But that seemed unlikely. Unless all seven Grand Servants were together, a single one wouldn't scare a Beast into hiding.

Of course, Arash with infinite Stella was a different story.

Hearing his deduction, Daji's smile didn't diminish but grew broader. "Correct."

He crossed his arms, a thoughtful look on his face. "It's been on my mind since the Guild Masters' meeting. Why were you there? You said you'd be wherever Arcueid was being condemned. It seemed like you were actually trying to get my protection, weren't you?"

A strange look crossed everyone's faces. Beast V seeking protection from Shirou? That seemed unbelievable.

But Shirou's calm demeanor and reputation made them wonder if he was right.

"Someone is hunting you," he continued, "or rather, hunting Beasts... It's Manaka Sajyou, isn't it?"

Artoria and Morrigan looked confused. Clearly, they didn't know who Manaka Sajyou was. But Mordred and Kiara's expressions changed drastically, and Ayaka's face fell.

"Sister..." Ayaka whispered, her face clouded with emotion.

She had always believed her sister died long ago, never imagining she had been hiding within her mind, a stowaway traveling to the future. And then, using the trial within the Resurrection Pyramid, her sister created an alternate past, killing her past self to bring herself back to life.

He met Daji's gaze and said, "It makes sense that you would come to me for help. I am the only one who can stop her."

He had expected Manaka to hunt the Beasts. After all, he had witnessed the power of the Lord of Salvation himself and heard more about it from Tethys. Manaka, now the vessel for the Lord of Salvation, had become the Queen of Evil, her power surpassing all others. But even that wasn't enough to defeat Eternal Emperor and take her revenge.

To grow stronger, she needed to use the Lord of Salvation's vortex power to absorb other Beasts. What he hadn't foreseen was the speed with which Manaka acted. She was already targeting Daji in Sanctuary.

"You've figured it all out," Daji sighed, looking disheartened. Inwardly, however, she grew more cautious of Shirou. He was too perceptive, not someone she could easily control.

Turning to Ayaka, she smiled. "I can tell you where to find Altera. My condition is simple. Form a contract with me and make me your Servant."

"What?" Ayaka gasped in surprise.

Everyone stared in shock. Beast V wanted to form a contract with Ayaka? Was that even possible? Could a Beast even do that?

"But...but you're with the Council..." Ayaka stammered, staring at Daji.

"Isn't that even better?" Daji's smile widened. "You could easily eliminate a Council executive. Besides, I've been looking for a way to leave the Council safely."

Ayaka stared at Daji, speechless and uncertain.

Everyone was stunned. Could they really get rid of a Council executive so easily?

Shirou remained calm, his gaze fixed on Daji's smile. He wondered what she was planning.

Ayaka hesitated, glancing at Kiara several times as if to gather her courage. Finally, she agreed to form a contract with Daji.

The contract was made. Seeing Ayaka's nervousness, Daji decided to tease her. "Master~" she purred coquettishly.

Her voice sent shivers down everyone's spines. Except for Shirou, everyone present was female, and none of them could tolerate such behavior from another woman—least of all Ayaka.

"B-Beast V," Ayaka said, trying to ignore the goosebumps, "please, where is Altera?"

"Of course," Daji replied with a smile. She raised her hand and pointed towards the Pyramid at the center of Sanctuary. "Right there."

Mordred glanced at the Pyramid and sneered. "So, Archbishop captured her after all."

"No, no, no, to be precise, my companion captured her," Daji corrected with a smile.

Shirou frowned. "May I ask who this companion is?"

"Ah, a disagreeable fellow," Daji said with a smile. "He complains constantly, wallows in self-pity, and is utterly self-absorbed. However, he seems to be quite a famous sage in your human civilization. His name is Archimedes."

His frown deepened. "So it's him."

"The Greek scholar?" Mordred raised an eyebrow and looked at Daji. "If you're lying, at least make it believable. Archimedes was killed by an ordinary soldier. Even as a Heroic Spirit, he'd likely be a Caster, like Shakespeare. Even if he is your companion and a member of the Council, he's probably not a core member—and definitely couldn't capture Altera!"

Artoria nodded in agreement. Though she and Altera had been enemies for a long time, she had great respect for Altera's abilities.

"Normally, you would be right," Daji said with a smile. "But Archimedes is a renowned scholar of Titans. On Earth, no one understands Umbral Star better than him. In fact, Altera's birth as the Emperor of the Huns is closely connected to him."

Everyone frowned.

"Um..." Kiara raised her hand hesitantly. "May I ask what Umbral Star is?"

"Oh? You don't know, Kiara?" Daji asked, sounding surprised.

Kiara nodded rapidly.

Daji looked around and saw that, with the exception of Shirou and Artoria, even Morrigan and Mordred seemed confused.

"Oh dear," Daji sighed, patting her forehead. "This is a problem. I thought you all knew."

Umbral Star is a comet that travels through the Milky Way galaxy every fourteen thousand years. It destroys and harvests all intelligent life in its path. It's actually a surveillance device left behind by the alien civilization that created Mooncell.

Over fourteen thousand years ago, Umbral Star passed through their solar system. It launched three vessels, each carrying a Vanguard, but they were shot down by the Ultimate Ones led by Saturn. One of these Vanguards landed on the moon and was captured by Mooncell.

This was Velber 02, the vessel carrying White Titan. It destroyed about 80% of Mooncell's data, but Mooncell managed to lock it within its system, preventing the destruction of Earth's civilization.

Altera's true form was trapped by Mooncell in a stone chamber. However, she projected an avatar onto Earth – the White Titan, still in its cradle, that Odin destroyed in Norse mythology. Of course, that's the history of the Connection Point.

In actual history, the second generation of gods seized control of the planet from the goddess Tiamat. They created a stable and prosperous Age of Gods and watched as Altera's avatar grew. They allowed it to partially destroy the Age of Gods before it was finally eliminated by the first Holy Sword wielder.

The fall of the Age of Gods led them to create Gilgamesh, the Wedge of Heaven. But Gilgamesh betrayed the gods and ultimately triggered the final battle between Eternal King and the last god, Vortigern, in the fifth century. This separation battle ended the Age of Gods for good.

After the first Holy Sword wielder destroyed the White Titan's avatar, its remains formed an ancient ruin. The Huns' Grand Elder then used these remains to create Altera.

Altera quickly rose to become Emperor of the Huns. The instincts of the Umbral Star Vanguard made her a formidable warrior, and she conquered vast territories. After defeating Crimson Moon alongside Eternal King, she expanded the Hunnic Empire to its greatest extent, engaging in a years-long struggle for dominance with Artoria.

Around that time, the Beast of Revelation, hidden in a dimensional rift, projected the Holy Grail onto the Irish island to influence history. The Pope obtained it, and Eternal Kingdom began to crumble from within.

Finally, Artoria assassinated Altera, and the Hun Empire, which spanned Asia, Africa, and Europe, collapsed. At the same time, Mordred brought an end to the Eternal Kingdom.

After Daji's explanation, everyone understood this chain of events. The flow of history seemed unreasonable, yet it remained continuous. All causes in human history stemmed from the White Titan. Without her, human history would have stayed in the ancient era, dominated by gods.

Daji didn't care about Kiara, Mordred, or the others, but Ayaka was her Master, so she had to explain everything clearly.