IBHJ 1290

When Scathach returned to the Tower of Light after leaving Aife behind, she found the battle already in full swing.

Shirou was leading three vessels in a coordinated attack against the Incarnation. Manaka was neutralizing the Incarnation's attacks, Shiki was breaking through her defenses, and Shirou himself was turning the Incarnation's own abilities against her. Meanwhile, Rhongomyniad and Mordred were circling around to strike from behind.

Scathach was surprised to see Apostle Galahad fighting alongside them—the same Galahad who had been defeated earlier—now using his shield to protect Mordred from incoming attacks.

"What happened while I was gone?" Scathach wondered, but there was no time to figure it out now. She immediately joined the fray, rushing in to help Shirou and the others press their attack against the Incarnation.

As the battle intensified, Shirou realized that although the Incarnation couldn't use her power fully, it was much more precise than he was when using her recorded abilities. She quickly found his weak points and started counterattacking. With no other option, he turned toward Shiki as bright flames seemed to flicker in his eyes. He saw the Vortex within Shiki, and through that Vortex, saw Shiki's entire life. In that moment, his "Savior of Mortal" skill activated.

The world around them transformed, revealing countless intertwining lines of Origin criss-crossing everywhere. He raised Caliburn and sliced through one of these lines. With a soft snipping sound, a strand of the Incarnation's hair mysteriously broke off and drifted to the ground.

"Mystic Eyes of Death Perception?" Shiki asked, looking at him with mild surprise.

The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception—the ability to see the death of all things—was just one of Shiki's powers. But the fact that Shirou could now activate these eyes meant he could also see those Origin lines, the fundamental threads that held everything together.

Now Shirou finally understood what his [Savior of Mortal] power could do. Though not fully developed yet, this skill—which had manifested in him as the inheritor of the Vortex—was already proving extraordinary.

He could record and use the skills of anyone connected to the Origin! After switching to Shiki's record, he felt a wave of relief. Compared to the Incarnation's incomprehensible transcendent powers, Shiki's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception were much easier to grasp and control. The Incarnation truly deserved her reputation as an absolute ruler who had reached the transcendent realm. Even without fully understanding transcendent power, she had perfectly adapted this power into physical form, allowing it to hold its own against multiple opponents.

The Incarnation was focusing her attacks on Mordred, clearly determined to destroy her before dealing with the others. This wasn't just because Mordred possessed another Grail, but more importantly, because Mordred had once killed the Incarnation.

Fortunately, although Galahad wasn't directly attacking the Incarnation, he was helping protect Mordred, using his shield to block the Incarnation's strikes. His shield had been created using Tethys's technology and could both defend against and reflect the Incarnation's attacks. When the Incarnation realized that energy attacks couldn't get through to Mordred, she changed tactics and pulled two swords out of thin air.

"Wait, those are—" Shirou stared in surprise at the weapons in the Incarnation's hands.

He could sense they were Holy Swords. But unlike Artoria's Holy Sword, these two had been created by the Incarnation herself after she connected with the planet and used super-metals like orichalcum.

After summoning these Holy Swords, the Incarnation flew straight at Shirou, slashing toward him.

He was about to use Caliburn to cut through the Origin lines of the two Holy Swords, which would effectively "kill" them, when a blinding flash of white light erupted from the Incarnation, so intense it felt like needles in his eyes. The battlefield temperature plummeted as the Incarnation's Origin lines disappeared like morning mist before the sun.

This was clearly the effect of the transcendent realm. Only by going beyond the records of Origin and surpassing worldly understanding could something enter that transcendent state. With no other option left, he had to switch back to using the Incarnation's own recorded powers and held his sword horizontally to defend.

The three swords crashed together with a sharp metallic clang, sending dust and small stone fragments raining down from the sky. The impact numbed his fingers, the shock traveling up his arms like lightning. Before he could adjust his stance, the Incarnation lunged forward and twisted, bringing her leg up in a powerful kick aimed at his exposed stomach.

Black mud erupted from the ground, thick and viscous, forming a barrier that smelled of rich malice. But the Incarnation's strength was overwhelming—her foot tore through the protective shield with a sickening squelch followed by a thunderous boom that lifted him off his feet, driving the air from his lungs in a painful rush. He flew backward, crashing through a weathered stone pillar that exploded into fragments.

He skidded across the floor, the rough stone scratching at his armor, before slamming into the far wall with enough force to crack the old masonry.

"Seriously? Does she know the forbidden groin kick too?" he groaned, rubbing his throbbing stomach, though secretly grateful the kick hadn't landed any lower.

Taking advantage of the moment, Shiki and Rhongomyniad rushed in to attack the Incarnation from opposite sides.

The Incarnation responded with lightning speed, turning both wrists to swing her swords in perfect arcs. There were two brilliant flashes of light, and both Shiki and Rhongomyniad were knocked backward through the air, neither having a chance to defend themselves.

Just then, the Incarnation sliced through Manaka's mud barrier with one sword. Scathach saw her chance and lunged straight for the Incarnation's face. The Incarnation spun around, thrusting both swords forward like striking dragons. Scathach swung her spear sideways and, with several metallic clangs, deflected the Incarnation's swords as they began fighting intensely. For a few moments, all they could see was a chaotic dance of light and weapons.

Scathach looked at the Incarnation with a mix of surprise and excitement. At her level of skill, she rarely found anyone who could truly match her in combat. Aife, even after a hundred million years, had reached a point where she could barely keep up with Scathach's spear technique, but still couldn't reach her true level. And while Shirou could copy her movements and skills using her record, he couldn't really understand the depths of her skill or express it fully. But now, to her amazement, she discovered that the Incarnation—this absolute ruler who had always displayed overwhelming power—possessed fighting skills that existed within her own realm! Within that gate!

"Damn it, Scathach!" Aife watched as Scathach battled fiercely with the Incarnation and pounded the ground in frustration. "You should be fighting me!"

She felt completely helpless. Even after millions of years, she still couldn't catch up to Scathach—all she could do was watch as Scathach moved further and further beyond her reach.

Although Scathach had reached extraordinary heights through her martial arts, her strength was no match for the Incarnation's. After just a brief exchange of blows, one of the Incarnation's swords struck her down.

Having defeated Scathach, the Incarnation immediately turned toward Mordred. Gritting her teeth, Mordred raised her sword to meet the attack.

"Why are you so determined to kill me?" Mordred asked, straining against the Incarnation's strength.

"Because I will never let you destroy our history again," the Incarnation replied.

"What happened back then wasn't something we could control! Were we supposed to just watch while the Grail devoured the entire kingdom? The whole world would have been at risk!"

"And why should I care? The world's destruction is Gaia's problem, or Alaya's—not mine. I only exist as the kingdom's Counter Force."

With a quick movement, the Incarnation knocked Mordred's sword aside with one blade and brought the other crashing down—only to find Galahad's shield blocking the attack.

The impact made a loud clang, and the force of her own blow rebounded, sending the Incarnation flying backward.

Galahad reached out to help Mordred up, keeping his white shield positioned between them and the Incarnation.

The Incarnation stared at them in disbelief. "Even a heartless machine betrays me?"

"For someone who rules an empire, you're missing something obvious," Manaka said, pulling back her mud defenses. "That shield-bearer isn't a machine at all."

The Incarnation turned to her. "He's not human anymore. He has no brain, no heart, and his memories were erased! He should be nothing but a mechanical wall protecting us! His basic programming should be to protect the kingdom!"