IBHJ 1244

When Shirou rejected her, something changed in the Emperor. The hopeful gleam in her eyes instantly disappeared, replaced by an ice-cold stare. Then a weird, impossible-to-describe magical signature started emanating from her body.

"BOOM!"

Everyone jumped back a few steps, staring at the Emperor in shock. There weren't any earthquakes or tidal waves or mountains falling apart, but as Heroic Spirits, they could tell something way worse was happening!

The clear blue sky suddenly lit up with strange, flowing colors that human eyes weren't even built to see. Massive waves of energy disturbed the planet's gravity, twisting the fabric of reality itself.

The surface of the earth seemed to be breaking down on a fundamental level, with one mind-bending ripple in space-time after another appearing out of nowhere!

The whole three-dimensional world shook violently like it might tear apart at any moment!

"I can't believe something this powerful actually exists..." Enkidu stared at the Empire's Incarnation in shock.

"I knew this would happen!" Proto Gilgamesh growled, grinding his teeth as he summoned his weapons. "I've been saying all along that mongrel's messy interpersonal relationship would cause huge problems eventually—and look, I was right!"

He quickly transformed his sword into a bow capable of destroying the world, then aimed a reality-ending arrow straight at the Empire's Incarnation.

Since the moment he was summoned to fight against the Empire, he'd been gathering enough magical energy to obliterate everything. Now that power had finally reached its peak!

"BOOM!"

As Gilgamesh unleashed his Noble Phantasm, the sky instantly filled with crimson magic circles of apocalyptic proportions. A devastating flood of energy poured down from above, condensing into a massive arrow of blinding light that shot directly toward the enemy!

"The Surge of Utnapishtim!?"

Everyone froze in surprise. Any Heroic Spirit connected to Biblical stories would be completely overpowered by this Noble Phantasm, since it was basically the original version of Noah's flood. But would even this ancient catastrophe work against a Holy Spirit?

Apparently not.

"Boring," the Empire's Incarnation said flatly.

With just a casual wave of her hand, the celestial light arrow created by the Sword of the End simply vanished—popping like nothing more than a soap bubble.

But the fight wasn't over yet. Arthur and Artoria locked eyes for a split second, nodding to each other before activating their Noble Phantasms simultaneously. Their swords began glowing with blinding, magnificent light.

"EX—CALIBUR!" they shouted.

The two holy swords—weapons powerful enough to pierce stars and save the entire world—struck directly at the Empire's Incarnation. But she simply caught both blades with one hand.

"I can't believe this, two Excaliburs at full power and they couldn't even damage a thread of her clothing?"

The scene before them was absolutely mind-blowing. Everyone knew the Star Anchor existed to keep the world stable—it was the ultimate protective shield. And the Holy Sword? It existed to save the world by being the ultimate weapon of destruction when needed.

A fully unleashed Excalibur was more or less stronger than the legendary Sword of Rupture or the Sword of the End. It was one of the most powerful weapons, capable of either saving or completely obliterating the entire world!

Yet somehow, two fully powered Excaliburs couldn't even scratch this woman's outfit.

"Don't get cocky—we're not done yet!" Gilgamesh snarled, quickly donning his armor and fully releasing his divinity. As the true Wedge of Heaven, he pulled out his ultimate weapon, the Sword of Rupture.

"Fizz—fizz—fizz—"

The spinning Sword of Rupture created a massive red storm that could slice through the very fabric of time and space. This swirling vortex carried the raw power of creation itself as it surged toward the Empire's Incarnation!

The crimson storm merged with the two brilliant beams of Excalibur stopped by the Incarnation, combining into one overwhelming blast of power unlike anything ever witnessed before!

The immense power tore through space and time, shredding reality itself with raw, violent energy.

But then—

"What a waste of effort," the Incarnation said, simply closing her fist. The entire devastating beam instantly shattered and vanished like it had never existed.

A flash of aurora light filled everyone's vision. In that moment, a sharp crimson streak shot out from a tricky angle, aiming straight for the Incarnation's temple. But somehow, she saw it coming and casually extended two fingers, catching the crimson light between them.

"That's your second sneak attack. This isn't like you, Lady Scathach." The Incarnation glanced toward Scathach.

"When facing someone with your skills, what choice do I have but to try something sneaky?" Scathach replied with a smile.

Her tone seemed casual enough, but inside she felt a heavy weight in her chest. She knew that even Aife, who had spent literally a hundred million years mastering spear techniques, couldn't have blocked that perfect thrust—yet this woman had caught it with two fingers like it was nothing. There was no question about it: the gap between them wasn't just about power level, it was a fundamental difference in what they even were!

It was obvious now—the Empire's Incarnation wasn't just powerful, she came from "that side." Her very nature made her something beyond normal existence. A Transcendent!

When her first attack failed, Scathach immediately abandoned her spear, but the Incarnation wasn't about to let her escape. She crushed Gae Bolg with one hand and lunged toward Scathach.

Just then, a brilliant rainbow light flashed across space. Altera appeared almost instantly in front of the Incarnation, driving her rainbow sword straight at the woman's stomach.

But the Incarnation seemed to see it coming before it even happened. She casually raised her foot and slammed it into Altera's midsection.

BOOM!

The force was horrifying. It sent Altera flying backward like a rainbow-colored meteor, her body crashing violently into a distant mountain peak.

The entire mountain crumbled instantly as her body smashed through it like a ragdoll.

After delivering that hit, the Incarnation didn't even bother glancing at Altera—as if defeating an Umbral vanguard on par with UO was just another Tuesday for her.

She immediately charged forward, grabbing the Gungnir that Scathach had just summoned, and aimed her small but powerful fist directly at Scathach's head. This punch would have definitely killed her instantly if it had connected. But right as she was about to strike, the Incarnation looked at Scathach's face and suddenly remembered what Scathach had done during the kingdom period. Something in her hardened heart softened a little.

The massive fist stopped mid-air. Instead, she just grabbed Gungnir and hurled Scathach away.

"Ouch!" Scathach grunted as she flew through the air, crashing straight into Skadi, who had been in the middle of casting a spell. The impact sent both of them tumbling into Merlin and everyone else nearby, knocking them all down like bowling pins.

"Surround her! She's just one person!" someone shouted.

"Victory is at hand!" yelled another.

"Take her down and the mission's over!" a third voice called out.

The terrifying magical energy pouring off the Incarnation didn't scare these heroes away—if anything, it fired them up even more. They all grabbed their Noble Phantasms and charged straight at her from every direction.

Even Kiritsugu the Counter Guardian who barely ever spoke, raised his weapon and shouted, "We're so close to breaking free from Alaya! Kill her, and we can move to Gaia! Let that damn Alaya rot in hell!"

"Let that damn Alaya rot in hell!" the other Counter Guardians echoed in a furious battle cry.

If they could just break their contract with Alaya, they'd be willing to fight not just this Empire woman but even Heaven itself! The Counter Guardians rushed forward, their faces flushed with excitement like they were high on pure adrenaline.