IBHJ 1235

Shirou filled Astraea in on everything that had happened to him in the Empire, and they swapped information.

"So that vulnerability in the Empire's Barrier near Ireland was your doing," Astraea said, looking impressed. "It's not often you see two Counter Forces working together like this. Quite remarkable, actually."

He nodded in agreement. It was definitely unusual—two Counter Forces that normally operated completely independently were now spontaneously joining forces for a common goal.

When he thought about it more deeply, though, it made a certain kind of sense. From one perspective, Alaya itself was originally created by Gaia.

According to what Tiamat had told him, Alaya started out as a safeguard system built by an ancient civilization to ensure their survival in the universe. But after that whole disaster with the Lord of Salvation, the ancient civilization was completely destroyed.

That's how the space Alaya, which was originally created to help humanity expand into the universe, eventually evolved into today's Counter Force on Earth.

As newer generations of humans pushed toward industrial civilization and developed the natural world without much thought for consequences, tensions between humans and nature grew worse. This eventually led to serious conflicts between Gaia and Alaya.

"With both Counter Forces finally working together, and all the Heroic Spirits and regular people joining the fight—we have a much better chance at taking back our homeland," she said, her face brightening with a smile. "Mana will be happy if she hears about this."

Though Astraea wasn't originally a god from Pan-Human History, she clearly cared about what happened to its people.

Something caught his attention, though. "Mana?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded. "Alaya doesn't have any physical form or shape. Even gods can only detect traces of the Counter Force's activity—they can't actually see the Counter Force itself. The only exception is when the Counter Force grants a so-called 'miracle' to those desperate enough to pray for one."

He nodded in understanding. That "miracle" she mentioned was really the Guardian contract—not exactly the blessing it appeared to be.

Alaya had once tried to tempt him into accepting this malicious miracle, but he'd refused. Artoria, on the other hand, had accepted it. Now her body remained trapped in the timeless prison.

"There's one other exception—observers of [Nothingness] can actually see traces of the Counter Force in action. Mana Ryougi is one such person, which is why Alaya appointed her as the commander on our side," Astraea explained.

"Mana Ryougi?" His brow furrowed. "Did you say Ryougi?"

She nodded. "Yes, she's the pilot you beat up before at Camlann."

He frowned.

"Something wrong?" she asked, looking puzzled by his reaction.

He shook his head. "No, it's nothing."

But it wasn't nothing. he had already knew Manaka was a vessel of evil, and he'd had his doubts about who was really leading the Council. Now, hearing about Mana's existence, he was nearly certain that the Council leader was that woman—Shiki Ryougi. Like Manaka Sajyou, she was an abnormality connected to the [Root].

"Come," she said, breaking into his thoughts. "Let me take you to meet Mana."

He nodded, but then felt a gentle tug on his sleeve from behind. When he turned around, he saw the witch looking up at him uncertainly.

"Would it be weird if I came along too?" she asked quietly.

"Of course not. Let's go together," he reassured her. "Besides, you don't really have anywhere else to go right now, do you?"

The witch hung her head and let out a deep sigh.

Deep down, her spirit was untamed—she hated being bound by anyone or anything. All she wanted was to be as free as the wind, staying far away from conflicts and power struggles. That's exactly why she'd run away from Camelot when her sister tried to make her inherit the sword.

Now she found herself caught between two colliding worlds. True, the real Emperor had been betrayed and killed by Agravain and the other Apostles working together, but that was just infighting among the higher-ups. As someone from the lower ranks—just an ordinary citizen of the Empire—she naturally still cared about her homeland. But here she was, forced down this path because of her sister's decisions.

"I just wanted to travel around and see beautiful places and write my own book," she muttered with another heavy sigh. "Why couldn't she understand something that simple?"

Life rarely goes according to plan. The witch realized she had little choice but to stick with Shirou if she wanted to survive. But looking at things differently, fighting against those rebels could actually be seen as staying loyal to the Emperor, couldn't it?

This new perspective made the heaviness in her heart a little more bearable.

Astraea invited Shirou to the Pan-Human headquarters, and he happily accepted.

"It's quite something," Astraea said with a smile. "Tír na nÓg on the inside, Pan-Human on the outside. And for once, Gaia and Alaya have actually found common ground. This is the first time since ancient days that the planet and humanity have been working toward the same goal. We can definitely win this."

He nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Mordred cut in, shaking her head. She gestured toward the mechs. "Sure, it's impressive that ordinary humans are fighting back alongside Heroic Spirits. And yes, it's noble that these Spirits have put aside their old grudges to battle together across time and place. But let's be realistic—that still isn't enough to stand against the Emperor."

Everyone turned to stare at Mordred, clearly taken aback by her blunt assessment.

"My Grail can corrupt and control minds and souls—and it actually works better when there are more people and more chaos," Mordred explained. "But the Emperor has already taken down the Beast of Revelation, and the other Grail has fallen into his hands. He can corrupt souls too. So the very thing we're counting on—our numbers—might end up being our biggest weakness."

She paused before continuing grimly, "And that's not all. He has Holy Grails beyond just the two we know about. But here's the worst part—Lady Vivian told me the Emperor possesses an [Anti-Origin Noble Phantasm] that even the Lord of Salvation’s [Anti-Purge Defense] can't stand against." She shook her head. "If we're being honest, Pan-Human History doesn't stand a chance. Surrendering might be the only way anyone survives this."

"Mordred!" he said sharply, frowning at her.

"I'm sorry," she replied, turning away. "I shouldn't be talking like that. I was being defeatist."

Shirou sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, she had a point. Even without meeting the Emperor face-to-face, just seeing what they were up against was enough to make him feel like he couldn't breathe.

The Emperor's absolute eternity, Holy Spirit, and possession of the Holy Grail were terrifying enough. But beyond that, He had likely already taken another Grail from the Beast of Revelation.

And this [Anti-Origin Noble Phantasm] that she mentioned, he had never even heard of such a thing before, but just from her description, he could tell how terrifying it must be.

The Fairy Secret Arts bounded field was basically the gold standard of conventional defenses. Avalon's Bounded Field Noble Phantasm—which was really just the secret arts cast onto the scabbard by the nine fairy queens of Avalon—represented the absolute best in defensive barrier. Even the True Magics couldn't get through this perfect defense, making it the ultimate conventional protective measure.

But if that was the pinnacle of conventional defense, then the [Anti-Purge Defense] was in a completely different league—it was like a glitch in the system, a defense only game masters should have access to.

As far as Shirou knew, only one being possessed the [Anti-Purge Defense], and that was the Enlightened One. His skill [Enlightenment of the Sacred Fig] was classified as an [Anti-Purge Defense] and celebrated as proof of the Savior who protects the world. It could stop literally any kind of attack without conditions—physical attacks, conceptual attacks, attacks from other dimensions, mental attacks... it could even calmly block a scripted kill command. It was truly the mark of transcendence.

Not even Eternal Emperor's Noble Phantasm, the Queen of Evil's mud, Demonic Bodhisattva's Noble Phantasm, or any of the other Beast Noble Phantasms could make a dent in this [Anti-Purge Defense]. The Beast of Revelation had already proven this during the Shinjuku Holy Grail War.

Yet somehow, this [Anti-Origin Noble Phantasm] could supposedly destroy right through the [Anti-Purge Defense].

Shirou had never heard of an [Anti-Origin Noble Phantasm] before—this was completely new to him, a weapon capable of breaking through something as impenetrable as the [Anti-Purge Defense]. But he didn't question Mordred's information since it came directly from Vivian and from Mordred's connection to the Grail.

Still, something felt off. he knew Mordred wouldn't typically give up so easily. He glanced worriedly at the Grail in Mordred's hand, realizing just how much the Grail's corruption was affecting her personality.

"Let's head to Alaya's place and meet with Mana," Astraea suggested, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

He nodded, and the group set off toward Alaya's base.

With a jolt, he realized they were heading in the exact direction from which he'd heard the voice of the planet earlier.

So that's it! Gaia and Alaya had actually been secretly talking to each other this whole time!