IBHJ 1301

"Look over there!" Kiara shouted, pointing to the distant sky.

Manaka followed her gaze and saw an enormous black tree stretching across the sky. Within the tree, a star anchor was giving off a faint light. As they watched, this light seemed to trigger a response—a golden halo appeared above the black tree.

Manaka's eyes narrowed. She had seen that particular halo before, and her expression grew complicated as she recognized it.

"I never thought I'd see that transcendent being's power in a place like this," Skadi said, her voice filled with mixed emotions.

Her life path had been remarkably similar to Scathach's—she too had fought alongside Shirou in the Fourth Holy Grail War. The difference was that because of her interference with Shirou, the Enlightened One had determined that Shirou in that timeline had no chance of winning the future battle, so he simply left. Because of this, Skadi had never encountered the Enlightened One at Ryuudou Temple.

Manaka stared at the golden halo with a complex expression. "I wonder... is this happening because the Enlightened One foresaw this moment? Or is it the blessing of Master Xuanzang's compassion?" she murmured softly.

"What did you say?" Kiara asked.

"Nothing," Manaka shook her head. "The Star Anchor of the divine monkey that Xuanzang brought with her has Buddhist properties. Ironically, due to the Demon King, it's manifested like this."

So that explained why the Demon King hadn't emerged from the tree yet, even though Paranirmitavasavartin was fully formed.

Suddenly, the decaying ground began to shift and compress. Above them, an enormous vortex materialized in the sky. Two gigantic eyes peered down from within the swirling mass, focusing directly on Manaka and the others.

A voice boomed from the vortex—

"I expected Kiara and Skadi to come here. But you, Manaka? Your presence is quite the surprise."

Manaka and Skadi's expressions instantly hardened. "Sixth Seat!" they exclaimed together.

"This actually works out perfectly," the voice continued. "The Master's vessel and the core that will help the Demon King break free from her shell are all here. Might as well take everything at once—"

Before the voice could finish, a gigantic dragon head came out through the vortex, its gaze sweeping over everyone below.

Sixth Seat finally showed its monstrous face. It should have just been food for the Demon King's birth, but instead had somehow become the spirit of Paranirmitavasavartin.

This wasn't actually surprising—it was a spirit after all. The embodiment of the Holy Grail's selfish desires.

While the Demon King was suppressed by the Star Anchor and hadn't yet been born, Sixth Seat had taken control of Paranirmitavasavartin. Now it stared down at everyone through the swirling vortex above them.

Right before it stood Kiara, the core of the Demon King, and Manaka, the vessel of its Master. If it could just capture these two, then when its Master appeared and the Demon King was born, it would finally get its revenge against the Holy Spirit!

Skadi's normally gentle expression hardened into something dangerous. "There's bad blood between us—between you and all the Norse gods," she said coldly. "Now feel our vengeance!"

Unlike the battle-hungry Scathach, Skadi was typically a soft-spoken, gentle person. But facing this creature, she couldn't hold back the hatred burning inside her. Her eyes glinted with fury as the very fabric of Paranirmitavasavartin began to warp and distort. Slowly, a city of ice and snow materialized from the corrupted landscape.

This frozen city, centered around a massive tree as vast as the world itself, spread its branches wide, releasing countless particles of ice and snow. The cold power made even the decaying energy of this cursed land tremble.

Sixth Seat looked somewhat surprised. "I'll admit, I'm impressed that this Asgard city can push its way into Paranirmitavasavartin—though I suppose that's thanks to the Star Anchor and golden halo holding me back."

Its massive gaze shifted to the towering tree in the snow city, and a glint of recognition flashed in those huge dragon eyes. "Ah, now I see. You've actually transformed that old space invasion weapon into something that mimics my creation. I've got to hand it to you, Skadi. But unfortunately..." it paused, "that won't do you any good against me!"

The dragon threw open its enormous jaws as the human bodies clustered around its neck suddenly stood upright. In a flash, wild light erupted everywhere—solar flames, chaotic lightning, and countless energy beams rained down, slicing through Hoddmímis's branches.

Skadi's eyes flashed with determination. With a swift wave of her hand, she activated the [Runes of Wisdom] with a thunderous roar. [Fire], [Thunder], [Gale]... countless reality-bending runes appeared across the Hoddmímis tree. Within seconds, numerous divine authorities sprouted from the giant tree's branches, roaring back in counterattack.

"BOOM—BOOM—"

Light exploded in all directions as the countless runes merged into one massive energy beam that lit up like a morning star, thundering straight toward the dragon.

"BOOM—"

When the light finally shattered, the entire landscape shook violently. But when the dust cleared, the dragon just stared back at them, completely unharmed.

"It's pointless," the dragon mocked. "I am one with this land. You can't destroy Paranirmitavasavartin, and you can't destroy me!" It let out a thunderous laugh before opening its massive jaws. A colossal cannon, powerful enough to obliterate entire civilizations, emerged and aimed directly at the snow city.

This weapon combined the terrifying power of the Demon King, Beast, and dragon into one devastating force. Its destructive potential was beyond imagination. Even Skadi's planetary invasion weapon Hoddmímis, designed after Uranus itself, couldn't hope to withstand such an assault.

But as the star-destroying cannon plummeted toward them, Manaka stepped forward to face it head-on. With just a soft "pop," the black mud churned violently, yet somehow managed to absorb and grind up the massive cannon.

"So you're using the vortex against me, Manaka?" Sixth Seat's eyes gleamed with amusement. "You must realize that every time you tap into the vortex's power, you get closer to my Master! Just like Shiki, you were born special—naturally connected to the Root. But that connection is also your greatest weakness!"

"And?" Manaka replied with a calm smile, accepting the challenge. She quickly formed Goetia's beam and launched it straight at the dragon. Meanwhile, Skadi cast [Runes of Wisdom] buffs on Manaka, strengthening her attack as the two sides clashed in a fierce battle.

After devouring the dragon and becoming the spirit of Paranirmitavasavartin, Sixth Seat had reached a terrifying level of power. While it couldn't match the Ideal King who existed in the transcendent realm, it stood leagues above its original form—the one that had been destroyed by the Enlightened One.

But Manaka and Skadi were far from ordinary opponents. Even with her true personality [Manaka Sajyou] still dormant inside her, Manaka could tap into most of her power, absorbing any attack that didn't reach the level of the Root itself.

Skadi, as the supreme goddess of the Norse pantheon, had gathered all Nordic divinity into herself, using [Runes of Wisdom] to create Hoddmímis. Together, the two couldn't actually defeat Sixth Seat in its current form, but they were just barely managing to withstand its relentless attacks.

Kiara watched the battle from the sidelines, feeling somewhat useless. Despite having access to some Demonic Bodhisattva abilities, she knew that against beings this powerful, just being able to protect herself was actually an accomplishment.

Suddenly, a deep humming sound cut through the chaos. Terrifying waves of energy pulsed from the Tree, making all of Paranirmitavasavartin shake violently. Even the golden halo surrounding the Tree was growing dimmer by the second.

A black lotus slowly bloomed from the Black Tree.

Seeing this, Sixth Seat's expression filled with delight. "The Demon King is about to be born!" it exclaimed.