IBHJ 1083

The Lord turned his head toward him. "Still searching for ways to defeat me, Fujimaru Shirou?" he said. "I've noticed that humans, UOs, even that thing that prayed to me—they all insist on pointless actions. If it hadn't brought that vanguard here, none of this would have happened, and you would still be facing Uranus right now. You're quite lucky, Fujimaru Shirou."

The Lord had figured out the truth behind Altera's escape from assimilation. He believed there were no miracles, and even apparent miracles were simply the result of a series of actions leading to a fortunate outcome.

Archimedes had deceived and captured Altera. Then, he entered the moon and approached Altera's main body, attempting to revert her to the original Sefar vanguard from fourteen thousand years ago, hoping she would complete the mission alongside him.

But the fox had interfered. Ayaka had fully awakened Altera's human thoughts within her main body, while Manaka consumed the instincts of that body. As a result, Altera completely betrayed the AI. Enraged, the AI used the Ghandaran Eye to pray to the Lord of Salvation. The Lord descended, immediately assimilating Velber, Uranus, and Koyanskaya.

Koyanskaya's Beast authority originally belonged to the Lord, so she was instantly assimilated. But Velber and Uranus proved more resistant. Shirou seized this opportunity, using Abigail's Outer God power to disrupt the connection between them. This disruption allowed Altera, caught in the assimilation process, to find an opening.

She freed her consciousness, escaping assimilation. Moreover, because the AI had become the Lord's vessel, she could control Velber's unmanned main body, unleashing the true power of her sword. This was the chain of cause and effect that led to the current situation.

The Lord understood this, which is why he commented on Shirou's luck. Without Altera drawing away Uranus, they would have already been defeated.

"But there will be no more talk of luck against me," the Lord said.

Shirou looked at him, his expression grim. He knew there wouldn't be another stroke of luck. Dodging defeat this time was a lucky chance, but from now on, the Lord of Salvation would likely erase any [possibility] of good fortune.

There wouldn't be another chance encounter like that. He had only one shot at a decisive attack!

And he knew how to deliver it.

But how? The Lord of Salvation would undoubtedly reserve his power to erase possibilities for the moment Shirou made his move.

What could he do?

Lost in thought, he unconsciously glanced at Gaia. He wasn't relying on her, nor had he shared his plan. Nothing could escape the Lord of Salvation's observation, after all. It was just an instinctive look towards his ally. But that single glance prompted Gaia to act. She spread her hands, eyes flashing, and a blizzard erupted.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~

The wind howled, and endless snow swirled around them, sharp as blades, rushing towards the Lord of Salvation.

"More meaningless actions," the Lord said dismissively. "I told you, I have no interest in weaklings." With a mere glance, he made the howling blizzard disappear.

"I'm not wasting my time," Gaia said coldly. "You look down on me, call me a weakling. I am Gaia, but I am also Akasha, just as you are. So you're actually insulting yourself."

"A ridiculous statement," the Lord replied. "You are all merely parts of me. While I intend to reclaim you, I don't wish to see you suffer. This is mercy. You should remain still and await unification. Why seek out pain?"

"You keep talking about 'weaklings,'" Gaia said. "But tell me—how did you end up defeated before? Which supposedly insignificant weaklings worked together to banish you to the far side of the world?"

The surrounding air instantly turned ice-cold.

Colder than frost itself.

"You call others weaklings, yet you were defeated by them, sealed by them, banished by them to the end of time..." Gaia continued. "What does that make you? A failure who lost to weaklings?"

"You—you—" The Lord's body trembled with barely contained rage.

Shirou looked at Gaia in surprise. He'd never seen her like this and wondered whose personality she was imitating to say such cutting and harsh words.

"I've decided," the Lord of Salvation said, his eyes flashing with manic red light. "Gaia, I won't assimilate this part of your consciousness. I'll make it suffer for eternity—"

He had been provoked. Being driven back to the Root by the ancient beings in primordial times was a deep-seated trauma, and Gaia had ripped open the scar.

How could he possibly forgive this? How could he bear such insolence?

He would make her suffer! The Lord of Salvation's eyes burned with fury.

—Now's the chance! Shirou thought.

He hadn't expected the Lord's imitation of human emotion to make him so susceptible to anger, but this was his chance!

He launched himself forward, his demon sword outstretched. His right foot dug into the ground as he exploded forward, his left leg swinging through in a perfect sprint. He twisted his torso, adding even more force to his charge. He became a white blur, reaching the Lord of Salvation in the blink of an eye. His arms snapped forward in one clean motion, shoulders rotating for maximum thrust. The sword plunged into the eye in the Lord of Salvation's head.

He felt the resistance of the blade piercing flesh, first the initial puncture, then the grinding push through deeper layers, but... something was wrong.

"You fell for it, Fujimaru Shirou!" the Lord shouted. "How could you possibly harm me? Nothing in this world can touch me. You've walked right into my trap!"

Shirou's voice was hard. "No. You've already lost. Go back to where you belong!"

"I—" The Lord started to laugh, but his eyes widened in shock. Cracks spread across his body like a spiderweb.

He looked up in surprise. "You... you used your own soul as fuel to replace the magical energy!"

Shirou's expression remained cold. Wasn't it obvious?

Everything was Akasha, and therefore nothing could harm the Lord. The only exception wasn't authority, wasn't any of UO's power, wasn't even the Enlightened One. It was the soul of a transmigrator.

A transmigrator's soul was the only thing independent of Akasha.

So, he burned his own soul, transforming it into magical energy. It wasn't the demon sword that pierced the Lord's eye, but Shirou's soul itself.

"I never saw this coming. What magnificent soul fireworks..." the Lord of Salvation said as his mud body began to collapse. He didn't fight back. Instead, he looked into Shirou's burning eyes, openly admitting his defeat.

"But remember this, Fujimaru Shirou. Next time, I won't limit myself to a single avatar. Let's see how long your soul lasts when you have to burn it again."

His lips curved into a cold smile as he turned to Gaia. "And you, Gaia—listen well. I will open the Gate of Truth and break free from my banishment. When that day comes, you'll be the first to fall."

The Lord of Salvation crumbled away into dust.

A cracked eyeball fell to the ground with a clatter.

Shirou quickly stamped his foot down on it. With a sickening crunch, blood splattered. He then used the Fire God's authority to burn the eye until not even ashes remained. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief. But his face was gradually turning pale. He thrust his sword into the ground and leaned on it, large beads of cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Are you okay, Shirou?" Gaia came over and asked.

He shook his head. "I'm fine. Just... burning my soul took more out of me than I thought it would."

"You took a risk. If he had seen through your plan, he could have infected your soul."

He shook his head again and looked at her. "Let's not dwell on that. We need to awaken ORT. I want him to destroy this black tree."

Gaia nodded and closed her eyes. Her body flashed with blue light and expanded rapidly. Ort was awakening.

Shirou sat to the side, still clutching the demonic sword. His face was deathly pale, and he breathed heavily. Burning his soul had taken a severe toll, but he had finally found a way to defeat the Lord of Salvation.