IBHJ 1237

After the Emperor synchronized everything, Mana who was connected to Alaya—brought Sion out from the Wandering Sea. She also rescued Astraea, who had escaped synchronization since she was a goddess from another world. Together, they established a base in Europe to fight back.

The Empire's barrier was nearly perfect, but before synchronization happened, the Council led by Shiki and the Hope alliance that included Bedivere had created a loophole. That's how the mechs managed to slip through the Empire's barrier and show up in Camlann.

"I know a bit about you from Trismegistus," Sion explained. "It has some information about you, including something called 'World Reset.'"

"Atlas Academy knows about the world reset?" Shirou was surprised.

"We don't have much information about it, but we can calculate the possibility to some extent," After a brief pause, she added with a smile, "After all, this is the same information that led my father to calculate the inevitable destruction of the world—and why he became so obsessed with trying to save it."

He nodded slightly.

"According to Trismegistus's calculations, the Council's destruction of the Human Order was just a relatively big problem. What's truly terrifying—what actually drove my father insane—was the ultimate catastrophe that lies beyond this."

"What exactly is that?" the witch asked.

"I don't know for sure. Perhaps it's the Emperor," Sion replied.

Shirou shook his head. "No, it should be the Lord of Salvation."

"Lord of Salvation? What's that?" Sion asked.

"A monster from the Root," he explained.

"Ultimate destruction coming from the Root? That's hard to even imagine," Sion said with a slight smile. "Though this catastrophe might only destroy the Emperor, not us. Because before that happens, we'll probably have already been defeated by the Emperor anyway."

Mordred frowned. "We won't lose to the Lord of Salvation!"

"Are you going to give me some passionate speech about how we absolutely won't lose?" Sion replied. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in comic book stories that just play on emotions."

"To win the future, we have to challenge reality," he said. "Isn't that what alchemists do as well?"

Sion paused for a moment, then nodded slightly. "You talk like an alchemist. It makes me want to take a sample of your blood." She glanced away. "But I have things to take care of right now. If you need any help with alchemy, just let me know."

With a quick wave, she turned and walked away.

"Don't worry about her. That's just how she is," Astraea said, looking at Shirou with concern.

"It's fine. Everyone has their own quirk," he replied with a casual smile. "As long as they're not enemies, I can appreciate all kinds of people."

"Let me take you to see Mana first, then."

He nodded, and she led him deeper into their base. It was an impressive structure—essentially a castle with a brilliant beam of light shooting from its peak straight into the sky.

As they got closer to the castle, he suddenly felt his body tremble. A familiar voice echoed inside his mind.

—Do you want power? All it costs is becoming my Guardian.

It was Alaya's voice. Just like years ago, the awakened Alaya was trying to tempt Shirou into accepting a cruel miracle.

‘Go away. I'm not interested,’ he thought in response.

—Why not?

‘Because you're too embarrassing,’ he thought dismissively.

"..."

Alaya was completely speechless.

Nobody ever turned down a miracle, let alone called Alaya "embarrassing" to her face. And from a regular human, no less!

While the universe Alaya might sound impressive, this particular humanity's Alaya wasn't all that special. Any decent Beast could easily pin her down and drag her through the mud. She'd basically become one of those overhyped characters that fans build up as super powerful, but who constantly gets humiliated in the actual story—kind of like that stereotypical blonde loser character everyone knows.

Shirou couldn't care less about her power. Besides, once he got his hands on the Eternal King's records and created the [Eternal Emperor], he could take down Beasts like they were nothing but whimpering babies. One punch for each troublemaker!

As he walked into the castle, he spotted a girl standing within the beam of light. She had glossy black hair and held her hands clasped against her heart, as if deep in prayer. She looked about seventeen or eighteen, wearing a high-quality black smock that was definitely out of style by now—but it had that timeless quality that somehow transcended passing fashion trends.

"Welcome back, Goddess Astraea."

"Thank you, Mana. I've also brought—"

"No need for introductions," Mana Ryougi said, slowly opening her eyes to reveal a striking blue gaze filled with intelligence. "Alaya has already filled me in on everything."

She turned to him with a knowing look. "Nice to meet you, Eternal King, Mordred. And you as well, Her Highness the Second Princess of Camelot from the Empire."

The witch shook her head and mumbled under her breath, "There... isn't a Second Princess of Camelot anymore."

No one seemed to pay any attention to her comment.

"So Alaya's been talking about us, huh?" Shirou said, studying Mana Ryougi carefully. "Exactly how much do you know?"

"Anything happening outside Britain is completely visible to Alaya's perception. But inside Britain?" She paused. "The Empire's barrier blocks Alaya from seeing anything."

"So you're in the dark about what's going on in Britain?" he asked.

Mana simply nodded.

"We don't have much time, so I'll get right to the point," he said. "Europe has gathered all these mechs made from people, while Britain has brought together a group of Heroic Spirits from Pan-Human History. If we want any chance at fighting the Empire, we need to join forces."

Mana considered this for a moment. "So Heroic Spirits have already assembled in Britain? That must be Gaia's doing." She nodded thoughtfully. "You're right—whether it's the planet or humanity, we need to stand together against our common enemy if we want to take back the world." She let out a frustrated sigh. "The problem is Londinium standing in our way."

She continued, "Pan-Human History still has a fighting chance since the Emperor's Complete Synchronization isn't finished yet. But the Empire has all of eternity on their side, and they've stationed massive forces at Londinium to guard the English Channel. That's why we can sneak in for small raids by exploiting weaknesses in the Empire's barrier, but can't launch any major attacks."

He frowned, "If we want to contain the Empire, we need to unite Tír na nÓg with Alaya's forces from north to south to create a pincer movement. Then we can use cultural tactics to confuse their people's thinking. That might actually work. But that fortress city Londinium is the main obstacle standing in our way."

"Londinium is connected to Hadrian's Wall and serves as Britain's front door," she added. "The Empire has poured so many troops into it that it's practically impenetrable. If it wasn't, we wouldn't have been stuck here all this time without gaining an inch."

He leaned forward. "Then the only way to crack open Londinium is through stealth. You guys attack from the outside to draw their attention, while Tír na nÓg seizes that moment to strike from within. With this two-pronged attack, we might actually have a chance at breaking through Londinium."

"But there's a problem," she said with a worried expression. "Britain is completely sealed off by the Empire's barrier. We can't send any messages to Tír na nÓg."

He smiled confidently. "That's not an issue. We happen to have an excellent messenger right here."

"Who are you talking about?" she asked, then glanced at the witch, wondering if she was the messenger.

He stomped his foot and called out, "You've been eavesdropping long enough. Why don't you show yourself, Gaia?"

"Gaia?" Mana’s's eyes widened in surprise.

As if on cue, glittering particles like tiny stars began to emerge from Shirou's body. They drifted upward and clustered together, gradually forming what looked like a virtual screen. Within this shimmering display appeared a figure with striking white hair and piercing red eyes.