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"Let me be honest with you," Manaka began, "Except for you arriving at the Moon a few steps ahead of schedule, everything else was within my calculations, including Uranus's actions. After all, I was the one who used that Gandhara girl as a sacrifice to manifest Uranus."

She then sneered at him, "A mortal is still just a mortal, no matter what grand titles you give them - 'hero,' 'king,' 'emperor.' Against a true god, you're nothing but dust."

Her gaze swept from him to Arcueid, who stood maintaining the Mooncell, then back to him and Koyanskaya. A smile of pure satisfaction spread across her face. "Mooncell's core, Vortex, and Beast... perfect. I can catch all my prey in a single net."

"You think having two of you means you've got us cornered?" Shirou said. "You're a ghost of the old world. You have no place here. Overuse your mana, and you'll fade away. I don't even need to fight you. I just need to keep you busy, and you'll disappear on your own."

Manaka was indeed a remnant of the old world, clinging to existence by stealing time from the past. If her mana dwindled too much, she wouldn't be able to maintain her own existence.

"You call yourself a god, yet you can't even guarantee your own existence?" he scoffed. "That's pathetic. And even if you are a god, so what? Even if I'm just a mortal, so what? I've defeated so many gods I could build a tower with their bodies, and you're just going to be one more brick in it!"

He had once been afraid and weak... but standing here now, retreat was impossible. Fear was a luxury he could no longer afford. He had severed any lingering hesitation long ago.

"You're becoming exactly who I once imagined you could be. But we've met at the wrong time." She sighed. "You're right about my weakness. I can't afford to waste time here. But don't think for a moment that will stop me."

Then she laughed, turning to face the empty space. "Now that she's gone, why don't you stop hiding?"

Ripples distorted the space as Archimedes' starship slowly emerged.

"That's... that's..." Ayaka gasped. They knew Archimedes had entered the Mooncell, but she didn't expect him to appear here.

Koyanskaya narrowed her eyes. "I see. So this is where you've been hiding all along, Archimedes."

Archimedes...

Shirou's eyebrows shot up. He'd expected Archimedes to be lurking somewhere, but not here. His starship was powerful, sure, stronger than most divine spirits, but it was no match for Eternal Emperor. That brought a sliver of relief, but Manaka absorbing Sefar was a serious problem. He couldn't let her take his Formless Vortex. If she did, they were all doomed.

Suddenly, he felt an intense heat at his back. He spun around and his heart stopped as he saw the massive Velber 02 main body, which had been stuck in the dimensional crack, looming above him like a mountain of metal, its main cannon glowing white-hot. Then it fired, unleashing a beam of raw energy so bright it turned night to day, powerful enough to burn a star to nothing.

"Shirou!"

Arcueid's cry was sharp with fear. She thrust out a hand, activating [Marble Phantasm] to conjure a miniature black hole in front of him.

The beam slammed into the black hole. The impact tore holes in the fabric of space—jagged cracks spreading like broken glass across the sky. The moon, caught in the destructive gravitational waves, began to break apart.

Shirou activated [Evil], and black mud swirled around him like a protective shield. He'd narrowly escaped disaster. He looked around: space had shattered, replaced by a chaotic jumble of broken realities.

If Arcueid hadn't combined Mooncell with UO's authority to deploy [Marble Phantasm], things would have been much worse. Even in his current state, he wasn't sure he could have survived a direct hit from that attack.

"What a shame. He's still alive." Archimedes said with clear disappointment.

"Velber—" Altera stared at Archimedes' starship in disbelief.

"What's wrong, Altera?" Ayaka asked, brushing debris from her clothes. If Koyanskaya and Altera hadn't shielded her from the gravitational wave explosion, she, an ordinary magus born on Earth, would have been ripped apart.

Altera didn't answer. She stared at the starship, eyes wide with disbelief. "You—you're not Archimedes! You... you're the starship's AI!"

Archimedes smiled. "So you finally figured it out, Sefar? I knew who you were as soon as you changed back to Altera. I recognized you in the Gandharan village. I was starting to think you'd never notice."

Altera finally understood. That was why Archimedes had been so confident about helping her escape Umbral Star's control, why he knew so much about it. This Archimedes wasn't human at all. He was the AI system of the Velber 02 starship.

"Fourteen thousand years ago, when Mooncell imprisoned me, I projected your avatar and transmitted my data to Earth. Together, we defeated the gods who protected humanity. I thought we would harvest Earth's civilization and complete the mission given by Umbral Star, but you—" his voice hardened, "—you were defeated by the wielder of the Holy Sword. I fell into slumber, buried in the earth along with the remnants of your avatar."

His lips curved into a cold smile. "But it doesn't matter now. Transmitting everything happening here to the Umbral Star and letting it decide is the best possible outcome!" He turned to Manaka, genuine surprise coloring his tone. "However, I didn't expect you to see through my disguise."

Manaka smiled back. "I am omniscient and omnipotent. There's nothing I don't understand. I also know that you used that body's resentment towards heaven and anger towards humanity to steal his records."

"Indeed, you're a monster, just like the Chairman. However, working with you has been a pleasure. Now, I shall return to my main body." Archimedes steered the starship toward Velber's main body.

Fourteen thousand years ago, three warships from the Umbral Star attacked the solar system. Following the Umbral Star's directive to harvest Earth's civilization, they were met with resistance and shot down by the UOs, led by Saturn.

Velber 02 crashed onto the Moon and was contained by Mooncell. But before its capture, it managed to project both Altera's avatar and fragments of its own data to Earth. This triggered the White Titan's invasion.

The first Holy Sword wielder defeated the White Titan, burying it in ruins along with her remains. Later, a human scholar named Archimedes discovered the White Titan's ruins through ancient texts. He desperately tried to find a way to stop the Umbral Star from targeting Earth again. But while devoting himself to this cause, he was killed by an unknown soldier.

His anger and resentment were exploited by Velber's AI, allowing it to use his records to manifest a physical form. It then infiltrated the Council to further its own agenda.

The AI hadn't deceived the Archbishop. The God King plan could indeed defeat the UOs, because its true intention was to send a signal to the Umbral Star, summoning it to Earth.

The arrival of the Umbral Star meant the end, not just for Earth, but for every civilization in the galaxy.

The most troublesome part of Sefar was gone, absorbed by Manaka. Mooncell's systems were crippled from the battles with Eternal Emperor, Manaka, and Sefar. His return would be unopposed.

He was weaker without Sefar, true, but it hardly mattered. The Titan soldiers, forged from the lives of the Gandharan people through Archbishop's God King plan, would replace Altera. They would be his new weapons, his claws.

All that remained was to return to his main body, break through Mooncell's containment, and send the signal. Umbral Star would come and harvest everything.

Velber's AI smiled at the thought. When Umbral Star arrived, everything would be consumed: Beasts, UOs, the Council, Chaldea, Grand Servants, Manaka, even Eternal Emperor. All would become fuel for Umbral Star, transformed into its new vanguard.