IBHJ 1269

This pain felt so familiar.

This terrible, crushing pain that she knew all too well.

Ritsuka had always feared this feeling, this suffocating agony, which is why she'd stopped wanting to make friends.

Because she was terrified of losing them.

But now, she had to sever these bonds with her own hands.

"By the power of my Command Spell, I order you—King Hassan, Romulus, and Orion—you must all come back!"

The three Command Spells immediately surged with energy, flowing into the servants. In an instant, the three Grand Servants regained their full strength!

Seeing the Grand Servants restored to power, Shirou summoned twenty-four Rhongomyniads once more. Caliburn swung downward with a deafening roar, sending a massive wave of light rushing toward the three Grand Servants.

But this time, the Grand Servants didn't try to dodge.

Instead, they activated their Noble Phantasms, merging them into one powerful force, and launched themselves directly at Shirou.

Light.

Nothing but blinding light.

All those people, those memories, those feelings... those bonds—everything dissolved within the endless radiance.

"You must break free from your own cage, Master!"

Their voices echoed in Ritsuka's ears as she lifted her head, watching spirit particles floating like snowflakes around her.

So pure. So brilliant.

And so beautiful.

This was life, and this was also death. A connection that could never truly be severed.

Ritsuka couldn't hold back her tears.

...

"Do you understand what you're missing, Kirschtaria?" Zeus asked.

Kirschtaria was quiet for a moment before turning to face Zeus. "And what are you missing, Zeus?"

"The ability to truly understand each other's hearts," Zeus replied.

Kirschtaria turned away and began walking off. "I won't be watching Ritsuka anymore. There's no point to it now."

...

Shirou looked at his sister crying and closed his eyes.

Just then, three Saint Graphs entered his body.

These were the Grand Saint Graphs!

Grand Assassin, Grand Lancer, and Grand Archer!

Combined with the Grand Caster he already had, he now had four Grand Saint Graphs!

Class distinctions no longer mattered, but with these three new Saint Graphs, he could feel his magical energy capacity multiplying several times over!

Even the malice of his [Evil] had become insignificant, no longer able to influence him.

His capacity as a vessel had grown tremendously!

But what did this mean?

He couldn't help wondering.

...

It was over.

The battle had ended.

No one had expected things to unfold this way.

Yet somehow, all of it seemed inevitable.

The loss of the three Grand Servants left everyone feeling regretful, but Shirou's awakening had given everyone a boost of confidence and hope.

However, the revelation that Shirou could use other people's Noble Phantasms had created quite a stir!

And nothing compared to what happened when Gilgamesh, who had left earlier, discovered that Shirou had used his Chains of Heaven. He was absolutely livid! He immediately stormed up to Shirou in a rage!

"You mongrel! You dare to defile my Chains of Heaven? MY Chains of Heaven!" Gilgamesh grabbed Shirou by the collar with both hands, shaking him violently.

If Shirou had used Ea or the Sword of the End, Gilgamesh would have been angry, but not this angry. But the fact that he specifically used the Chains of Heaven!

It was like finding out he'd been cuckolded!

Shirou looked at the furious Gilgamesh with a helpless expression. In the heat of battle, he had just used whatever weapon came to mind—he hadn't exactly stopped to think about what he was grabbing.

"Take it easy, Gil," Enkidu said soothingly. "We just lost the three Grand Servants. Let's not start fighting among ourselves now."

After Enkidu's gentle intervention, Gilgamesh finally settled down a bit, though his anger hadn't completely subsided.

"Listen carefully, Shirou," he said through gritted teeth. "You can copy and use other Noble Phantasms all you want, but the Chains of Heaven are off-limits. Use them again, and we're finished—I mean it!"

"You're absolutely right, great King of Heroes," Shirou quickly replied, patting Gilgamesh's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "I sincerely apologize for disrespecting your Chains of Heaven. I promise I'll never use them again."

"Just make sure you don't forget it!" Gilgamesh snapped, brushing Shirou's hand away. Then his expression shifted to curiosity. "But how were you even able to use the Chains of Heaven in the first place? I don't remember my records being under the Eternal King's control. Could it be that [Savior of Mortal] ability?"

"I honestly don't know," Shirou admitted.

"You don't know your own skill?"

Shirou simply nodded, then turned his palm upward. A small pool of black mud appeared, displaying a single line of text:

[Savior of Mortal A: ???]

"I've tried analyzing this skill using the black mud, but it's still a mystery to me. I can't fully develop it yet," he explained. "As for how I managed to use your Noble Phantasm... I can't really explain that either. I just thought about you, and suddenly it felt like I had become you. I saw your entire life, experienced everything you did, and then I could use your Noble Phantasms and Skills."

"That sounds almost like becoming the Throne of Heroes itself," Enkidu remarked thoughtfully.

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow and turned to Gaia. "Don't you have any answers about this?"

"I don't know," Gaia shook her head.

"Hmph. For a planet, you're surprisingly useless," Gilgamesh scoffed.

"You...!" Gaia was clearly furious but couldn't find a good comeback. She could only silently fume: When I get back home, I'm throwing you into a red giant star first!

"Let's not fight about this," Shirou interrupted. "While I don't fully understand what the [Savior of Mortal] skill is, I think I know how to develop it now."

"How?" Enkidu asked immediately.

Instead of answering, he pulled the golden Eternal Crown from his pocket.

He walked over to the window and looked down at the Eternal Crown in his hand. "There's something I've been borrowing for far too long that I need to return. Maybe this is why they appeared to me in the first place."

Vivian's heart skipped a beat as she looked at him with sadness in her eyes.

...

In the Imperial Palace, the Incarnation suddenly woke up when she felt a cool breath against her ear. Her eyes snapped open to find Arcueid blowing air at her. She frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Waking you up!" Arcueid replied with a playful smile.

The Incarnation just stared at her.

"You can't actually disturb me. Counter Force doesn't need sleep, and my synchronization with Pan-Human History never stops."

After a moment, she glanced at the crown of thorns on Arcueid's head. "And in case you're wondering, I have no intention of removing your seal."

"You think that's why I'm bothering you?" Arcueid touched the thorny crown on her head and smiled. "I don't even care about this thing anymore. I just want you to play with me!"

"...Play?"

"Yes! This place of yours has absolutely nothing—no manga, no video games, not a single thing for entertainment! It's incredibly boring!" she complained. "Since you're keeping me here, shouldn't you be responsible for my mental health? That means you need to play with me!"

"Play..." The Incarnation seemed puzzled by the concept. "I don't know what that is. Either way, I refuse."

"But why not?" Arcueid asked, genuinely confused.

"You're trying to change my mind, aren't you? You want me to give up on reviving the Eternal Kingdom," the Incarnation said. "I'm afraid that won't work. I am the Counter Force itself. My entire purpose is to ensure the Eternal Kingdom exists. So..."

"Oh, forget about all that serious stuff!" Arcueid interrupted. "We need another player for Old Maid! We're one person short! Come on, hurry up!" She grabbed the Incarnation's hand and started pulling her along.

The Incarnation hesitated briefly, then allowed Arcueid to lead her by the hand toward the back garden deep within the palace.

There, they found Artoria had already set up the card game and was waiting for them.

"Look who I brought!" Arcueid announced triumphantly as she pulled the Incarnation to the table. She sat down with a wide smile. "We can start dealing now."

"You really are impossible," Artoria said with a sigh, giving Arcueid a look of fond exasperation before dealing out three sets of cards.