IBHJ 1168

The golden crown shook violently before bursting into a beam of blinding light, shooting straight at the black vortex.

In that moment, everything exploded.

White light and black mist split the world in two.

"Such foolish tricks. Do you really think this will help you escape from [Me]? You'll all become [Me] in the end!" The ancient voice boomed from the endless vortex.

Then a voice of absolute authority cut through space itself, filling the Imperial Palace: "—Leave."

At this command, the Crown started to crack with a series of sharp sounds before transforming into a golden arrow.

"This is...!?"

Waves of shock rippled through the vortex.

The golden arrow shot forward with incredible speed, carrying that supreme will as it pierced straight through the black vortex and buried itself in the ceiling beam.

"You have the Arrow of Akasha?" The Lord of Salvation's voice was filled with surprise, then he seemed to realize something. "Ah... so this is your Eden?"

"Tethys and her games... Interesting. Is this your backup plan? Even after Manaka destroyed you, you’re still trying to stop me? But the Arrow of Akasha without the Vessel won’t be able to banish me, and even you know that. False savior, your eternal [Present] won't last forever. When I pass through the Gate and enter reality, your [Present] will crumble back into chaos—back to me. For now, I'll wait in the [Past] where everything began."

The black vortex slowly faded away.

The golden arrow stuck in the ceiling beam hummed softly before transforming into a streak of light. It flew back to the throne, changing back into the golden crown before slowly vanishing.

"Thank you, Your Majesty..." Demonic Bodhisattva's voice trembled, her face drained of color.

She never thought that even after the Emperor helped her break free from her Beast nature, she'd still be under the Lord of Salvation's control.

Thank goodness the Emperor had driven him away.

"Was that... the Lord of Salvation?" Agravain asked uneasily. To think such an alien being threatened the Empire.

But even a monster like that had fled from His Majesty!

"—Go, bring me Mordred's corpse."

A commanding voice echoed through the Imperial Palace.

“!!!”

"Yes, Your Majesty! I swear on my name as Agravain that I'll destroy every threat to the Empire!" he whirled around, his cloak swishing behind him as he strode out of the Palace.

"I'll go help Agravain, Your Majesty."

Demonic Bodhisattva left the Imperial Palace with a smile, but once she was outside, her face showed traces of fear.

Her heart raced as she thought about the golden arrow that had pierced through the Lord of Salvation.

"So that's what Moon Cell recorded... the Arrow of Akasha that sealed away the Monster of Akasha a long time ago. I never thought it was real... Using Akasha against Akasha, the people back then were something else."

She looked back at the empty Imperial Palace, shook her head, and hurried after Agravain. No point dwelling on the past now. She had her own battles to fight!

…

Back at Tír na nÓg, thanks to Ambrosius and Skadi's mastery of the Runes of Wisdom, they finished planning the fortress's reconstruction in just a few hours.

The new Tír na nÓg was built around the concept of three realms—[Heaven], [Earth], and [Human]. The [Heaven] realm sat at the top as the final core, while the [Earth] served as the front line against the Empire. Between them, the [Human] realm acted as a second line of defense, giving the fortress incredible defensive depth.

Just as they finished building the three realms, Gaia brought news that Zelretch had successfully summoned the Heroic Spirits and was on his way back.

A few hours after Gaia's message, a strange wave of energy pulsed through Tír na nÓg.

"They're here?" Shirou got to his feet and led everyone to the plains.

A massive rift suddenly tore open in the vast plain with several sharp cracks.

One by one, people radiating immense aura stepped through.

No, "people" wasn't the right word.

They were Heroes!

Each of their names was carved into history, their deeds celebrated through the ages.

They were legends who became Heroic Spirits, immortalized in the world's memory even after death.

"Look, Shirou!" Scathach called out.

"Yeah." He nodded, his fists tightening.

No army was more dependable or powerful than this one. Among them stood heroes who had fought armies single-handedly and slain gods while still human.

This was Pan-Human History's army—its last line of defense.

Its final fortress!

The Army of Heroic Spirits!

But their strength was also what made them so hard to command. Just as Shirou had expected, many of the Heroic Spirits Zelretch summoned were former Servants of Chaldea. They already knew what was happening, so they didn't mind being called here and understood how urgent things were.

But this time was different—they weren't summoned by any magus, so they were essentially wild Heroic Spirits bound to no Masters.

Without a Master to keep them in check, why would they take orders from anyone?

These were empire-builders, clever schemers, and god-slayers who bowed to no one. How could anyone expect them to follow another's lead?

But someone had to unite them. Without a leader, they'd be nothing but scattered grains of sand no matter how powerful they were. And scattered sand stood no chance of survival.

Shirou took a deep breath, his nerves rising as he faced these Heroic Spirits.

But he knew what he had to do. He was still alive, and that meant facing both good and bad, joy and pain. Sometimes just remembering what made life worth living was enough to push forward.

He had to do this.

Not for glory, not as Eternal King, but as Fujimaru Shirou, to take back his history and his future.

Shirou slowly took firm steps forward.

Scathach watched him with a slight smile. Go on, Shirou. This is where you belong.

Is it time already? Merlin thought as he watched Shirou's figure, remembering that young boy who had once reluctantly become king. Without realizing it, his face broke into a bittersweet smile.

Time really does fly. Everything had changed, but that young man was still the same at heart.

Shirou projected a sword and filled it with magical energy. With one swing, it sent a burst of light into the sky with a thunderous boom.

The brilliant flash caught everyone's attention.

Several hot-headed Heroic Spirits scowled, and Berserkers let out angry roars.

But Shirou's face stayed calm as he climbed onto the platform they'd prepared, making sure everyone could see him.

His eyes blazed as he looked down at the crowd. "Hear me, Heroic Spirits! Each of you stands at the peak of human achievement, your legends etched in history. Yet we are all driven by our own desires - our dreams, our ambitions, our ideals. And that's precisely why I stand before you today..."

Before he could finish, several kings reacted. Ozymandias frowned in disapproval. Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, looked intrigued. And Gilgamesh just snorted with arrogance.

"Who are you—" Ozymandias started to say, but a sword suddenly cut through the air toward him.

He caught it with one hand and turned to see Proto Gilgamesh standing with his arms crossed, looking down at him. "Let him finish, old man."

Ozymandias felt his anger rising and was about to snap back when he noticed Arthur slowly drawing his sword beside Gilgamesh.

He frowned. "The Holy Sword user..."

He pushed down his anger for now.

"It looks like Eternal King wants to lead us," Karna said, holding his divine spear and patting his brother's shoulder.

"It won't be easy. Not many will follow him—I know I won't," Arjuna glanced at Karna. "And get your hand off my shoulder. We're not that close."

Karna gave a smile before looking back at Shirou on the platform. "Let's hold back our complaints for now. I learned a lot from him. I owe him that much at least."

Arjuna nodded.

"So Eternal King's got his eye on all these warriors?" Iskandar scratched his chin thoughtfully. "He wants the King of Conquerors to serve under him? Hmm… This is quite troublesome."

"Um, uncle. Is that person really the Eternal King?" asked a young knight in pale silver armor.

"That's right. And you are?"

"I'm Richard, uncle."

"Richard?" Iskandar asked in surprise. "The Lionheart?"

"I'm not that special," Richard waved it off, then looked at Shirou on the platform with shining eyes. "At least not compared to him... to the Eternal King!"

"Oh? The Lionheart seems quite taken with Eternal King."

"Of course! He's our great ancestor!" Richard's eyes lit up. The Heroic Spirit summoning was amazing—he could finally meet Eternal King he'd admired for so long.

"Time to repay him for saving me during the Holy Grail War," Diarmuid said with a slight smile.

The Hundred-Faced Hassan stayed quiet, just gathering the other Hassans to their side.

"Are we going to engage in slaughter again...?" EMIYA turned to his partner. "What do you think, Okita?"

"Counter Guardians only answer to Alaya," she replied calmly.

Shirou took in everyone's reactions and continued: "We are selfish beings. Everything we've done, everything we've built, started from our own desires. But even so, there are humans who still believe in us! Even after seeing all the Heroic Spirits and their battles with their own eyes, they still believe we're heroes!"

"Everything we built, all the history we made—it has been completely erased. The humans who trusted us are gone. But their faith in us remains! So listen to me, Heroic Spirits! Even if we were enemies before, even if we come from different times with nothing in common, I'm asking you to trust in each other now! Not for our achievements that have turned to dust, but to answer their belief in us! My name is Fujimaru Shirou, and as a human, I'm asking for your help—let's take back our history and our future together!"

With those words, he slightly bowed his head to everyone.

That single gesture shocked the entire crowd.

Even the kings were taken aback.

"He's not trying to conquer us... he's asking?" Iskandar was stunned.

"Eternal King... is asking for my help?" Even Richard the Lionheart couldn't believe it.

"Hmph, at least you've gotten better at winning people over." Gilgamesh crossed his arms with a snort.

"You sound rather pleased. Happy to see your friend's growth, Gil?" Arthur's eyes twinkled with amusement.

"This King has only one friend, and that is Enkidu," he stated coldly.

"Oh? But you and Eternal King seem to get along quite well," came Enkidu's voice as she suddenly apperead behind him.

"Enkidu—?!" Gilgamesh whirled around, startled. "When did you...?"

"Lord Zelretch just transferred me here from another connection point. I arrived just in time to see Eternal King's speech... and saw Gil's young self standing up for him. What perfect timing," Enkidu's voice softened with nostalgia. "It's been so long since I've seen Gil like this."

Gilgamesh just snorted and turned away, arms still crossed.

Arthur watched them both with an amused smile.