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"Uranus..."

The dragon loomed over the wreckage of the starship, its presence making everyone freeze in place.

"It's too early." Manaka's shoulders tensed as she looked up at the massive creature. Her calculations had shown she'd have more time—enough to complete her mission and leave the connection point safely. Now that plan was falling apart.

"Grrrooooaaarrrr!!"

The dragon's roar shook the ground. Its rage poured out like a physical force, creating a windstorm that knocked everyone back.

"Perfect timing." Shirou braced himself against the wind, a smile spreading across his face. Even though they were outmatched, the dragon's unexpected arrival had turned their clear disadvantage into chaos—exactly what he needed. He glanced at Manaka, taking satisfaction in seeing even this all-powerful being caught by surprise.

A bitter irony—they'd come to Moon Cell to fight Uranus, but now they were being saved by it.

"Revenge... revenge..."

The dragon cradled the cocoon in its arms. From within came whispers of vengeance—the last traces of those Archimedes had sacrificed for his own goals.

The dragon's eyes glowed red as it fixed its gaze on the remaining starship. With one powerful beat of its wings, it launched itself toward the ship.

"You insignificant remnant of a dead civilization! How dare you stand between me and my goal!" Archimedes' face contorted with rage. Red light pulsed through the patterns covering his body as he activated the starship's defenses.

Glowing circles appeared around the ship, crackling with energy. They flared to life, unleashing a barrage of meteors that hurtled toward the dragon.

The dragon roared, its fiery breath shooting towards the starship like a comet.

Explosions erupted in a dazzling display of light, illuminating the darkness. Where the attacks met, space itself seemed to buckle. The resulting shockwave blasted Altera and Ayaka away.

The dragon ripped through the ship's defenses with a whoosh, its massive form moving faster than the eye could track — one moment at the stern, the next already past the bow. Its claws ignited with piercing white energy that extended into meter-long blades, and in the space of three heartbeats it executed a series of devastating slashes. The starship's hull split cleanly along those cuts, secondary explosions chaining through its core as the two halves peeled apart.

As the shattered vessel plummeted toward the ground, the dragon was already racing towards the three-way battle between Shirou, Manaka, and Arcueid.

Seeing the dragon flying straight at them like an oncoming missile, the three combatants instantly disengaged. Shirou planted his feet and raised his Purification Noble Phantasm around him. The second Manaka's body dissolved into writhing darkness, the black vortex swirling around her main body in layers of protective shadows. Arcueid raised her hands and reality warped inside, a hole tearing open beside her — she stepped sideways into dimensional pocket and vanished just as the dragon reached their position.

The dragon surged forward like a comet, its aura of nine UOs coalescing into a force that shredded Arcueid's dimensional pocket, forcing her out and sending Shirou and Manaka tumbling through the air like leaves in a hurricane. It then soared upwards towards the clashing Heaven's Corpse and Venus.

Heaven's Corpse, seeing the dragon's reckless charge, hastily dodged, but Venus was caught off guard and sent crashing through space, smashing through several asteroid monsters in succession. Their crystalline forms exploded into shards as she passed through them. She carved a kilometers-long trench across the moon's surface before finally rolling to a stop.

She stood up, dusting herself off, fury in her eyes. "Have you lost your mind, Uranus?" she shouted at the dragon. "I gave you part of my power, not for you to ruin my plans!"

The dragon ignored her completely. It turned, spreading its immense wings, which blotted out the sky, and turned its fierce gaze on everyone present.

"Indiscriminate attacks?" Shirou muttered, frowning.

Manaka glanced at the dragon soaring overhead, then turned to Shirou with a smile. "What do you say? Should we put aside our differences and deal with this hatred-incarnate UO first?"

Shirou met her gaze. "I agree, but I don't trust you."

"Funny," Manaka's smile faded. "I feel the same. Now, hand over your vortex."

The black vortex that was once Manaka surged, countless black hands reaching for Shirou, trying to pull him into its depths.

Shirou's eyes hardened, a bright light flaring within them as runes blazed around his body. A whirlwind of snow, wind, and lightning erupted, shredding the black hands into wisps of shadow that dissolved into nothing.

Seeing her sneak attack had failed, Manaka narrowed her eyes and gestured sharply, sending her clone hurtling towards him.

The clone, infused with Sefar's power and instincts, was a terrifying sight. Alien patterns covered its body, radiating destructive energy that obliterated everything in its path.

But before it could reach Shirou, a crimson beam lanced out, slicing the clone in two and neutralizing the attack.

The mud clone flowed back together like black liquid and quickly reformed. Manaka turned, glancing at Arcueid with an annoyed glare. "This is a private matter between Fujimaru and me. You're overstepping, Arcueid."

Arcueid gripped her sword, her expression serious. "I won't let you harm my friend."

"Very well," Manaka's eyes hardened. "Since you're so eager to involve yourself... perhaps it's only fitting that you become another piece of my collection."

Arcueid gritted her teeth and charged, her sword flashing. All thought of Mooncell vanished from her mind; her only focus was protecting Shirou from this evil woman.

The three clashed in a furious battle.

"Koyanskaya," Ayaka's eyes pleaded with the woman beside her. "You're a Beast, right? Please, if there's anything you can do to help Fujimaru, you have to do it." She gripped Koyanskaya's arm.

Ayaka was just an ordinary human. The only reason she'd survived this chaotic battle was because of Koyanskaya. When that dragon's blast had nearly blown them away, Koyanskaya had saved them.

Koyanskaya rubbed her temples, watching the battle raging in the distance. "Master, you're asking a lot of me. That fight is far beyond anything humans should be involved in. Even my power would only complicate things for Shirou and Arcueid."

She was a Beast, true, but this was a battle on a UO scale and Manaka was the Beast Hunter. This is precisely why Koyanskaya, as a Beast, had become so wary.

"Then what options do we have?" Ayaka's mind clutched at possibilities like a drowning person grasping at straws. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "The seed! The one you gave me—couldn't we use that?"

"No, it won't work. It's not the right time," Koyanskaya said, shaking her head. "Besides, Master, you're asking the wrong person. You shouldn't be asking me - you should be asking Altera." She gestured towards the figure Ayaka held in her arms.

Ayaka looked down at little Altera in her arms. The girl's eyes snapped open, giving Ayaka a determined stare. "Velber…" she whispered. "I have to destroy Velber! I can't let it send those signals to the Umbral Star!"

"Velber?" Ayaka followed Altera's gaze. In the distance, she saw it: Velber's main body. The dragon's attack had torn it down to pieces, but right now it was weirdly still standing and glowing faintly. "That ship... it's not destroyed?"

"It was," Altera said, pushing herself to her feet. "But it repaired itself. Velber has to be destroyed from the inside using its own systems. Otherwise, it'll just keep coming back." She clenched her small fists. "Only I can get inside. I have to go. I have to destroy it!"

"I understand." Ayaka nodded, then turned to Koyanskaya, her expression serious. "Koyanskaya, will you help us?"

Koyanskaya smiled. "Master, after everything we've been through, there's no need for such formality. We have a contract, after all." she added, her eyes gleaming, "Besides... when the universe itself is trying to kill you, survival becomes a compelling motivation."