IBHJ Chapter 980

The reaction was instant. "How dare you!" The guards and priests around them bristled with anger, glaring at him.

The Archbishop raised his hand, silencing everyone's outrage. "There's no need to hide this from these Heroic Spirits of Pan-Human History," he said calmly. "It was indeed a barbaric mistake our ancestors committed."

Shirou's eyebrow arched slightly. As expected of a magus from the Age of Gods, the Archbishop had seen through their true nature at a glance. But then, given that he'd summoned Enkidu, perhaps it wasn't so surprising.

"Our ancestors received wisdom from the Gandharans," the Archbishop continued, "and they came to understand the bloody, barbaric nature of their mistake. They established a warning: never disturb the Gandharan people again." His gaze shifted to Charia. "But judging by your presence here, it seems the remaining Gandharans have met with misfortune again."

The Archbishop sighed deeply, then looked at Charia with kind eyes. "Child, tell me what happened to you."

Charia's third eye saw a warm light emanating from the Archbishop, just like that of the gods depicted in the mural behind him. Overwhelmed by the kindness, he blurted out, "Our village was attacked!"

"This is truly a sad thing, but who would do such a cruel deed?" the Archbishop asked with a compassionate expression.

"It was a group of priests who wanted to reclaim God's blessing from the Gandharans. And they seemed to be priests from the Sanctuary," Shirou answered on Charia's behalf.

"It seems the impact of the new era has led some to break our ancestors' taboo." The Archbishop turned, his gaze sweeping over the priests behind him before settling back on Shirou and Charia. "I will investigate this matter thoroughly. However, as it involves priests, I may not be above suspicion myself. Child, you should remain with these adventurers for now. I promise to uncover the truth and atone for our ancestors' sins."

"Thank you," Charia said, deeply moved.

Shirou took the opportunity to scan the faces of the priests in the temple, committing them to memory, then quietly sensed for Servant wavelengths, muttering, "No sign of Altera's wavelength..."

He had seen Altera on the Archbishop's parade during the festival earlier and thought she might be in the pyramid, but now it seemed he had been too affected by the Lord of Salvation and his mind was a bit hazy. After all, apart from Assassins, no Servant could hide their wavelength. Of course, Shirou, possessing [Evil], was an exception.

Just then, a priest came to the Archbishop's side and whispered something in his ear.

"Is that so?"

The Archbishop looked at the priest with some surprise, then turned to Shirou and his companions, saying apologetically, "I'm sorry, adventurers. Your rank advancement might not be so easy after all."

"What happened?" Artoria instinctively asked.

The Archbishop sighed. "Recently, a tyrannical adventurer came to the Sanctuary, exploiting a system loophole to occupy the Resurrection Pyramid. Now it has become that adventurer's private property, and no one else can use it."

Morrigan's eyes widened. "But isn't it a public facility? How can it be privatized?"

"Theoretically, it shouldn't be possible," the Archbishop admitted. "But they found a way to exploit the system."

"If it's been occupied and can't be used, doesn't that mean we can't go to the Pyramid?" Mordred exclaimed, her voice carrying an unexpected note of... relief?

Kiara looked at her with confusion. The Resurrection Pyramid was crucial for restoring her intelligence and age, but why did her voice sound somewhat cheerful when she heard this bad news?

"Simply put, if we can defeat that selfish adventurer and bathe in the holy spring inside the Resurrection Pyramid, we can reach Lv9, right?" Shirou asked.

"Yes," the Archbishop nodded calmly, then took out a scroll inscribed with divine words and handed it to him, saying, "This is the entry scroll for the Resurrection Pyramid. You can't enter without it."

He immediately understood - this was clearly a system quest for rank advancement. And there was no time to waste. Rushing into the Resurrection Pyramid, bathing in the holy spring, and then restoring Mordred's age and intelligence - this was the urgent matter at hand.

Just as they were about to leave-

"Wooo--!!"

An ear-splitting cry suddenly tore through the sky.

The sound was so intense and sharp, like a sonic boom, that everyone instinctively clapped their hands over their ears in pain.

"What's happening?" someone shouted over the noise.

This was also Shirou's question as he rushed outside to see.

The streets, quiet after the festival, suddenly burst into chaos. People rushed to put on armor and grab weapons, flooding the streets until they became crowded and jammed. Frightened voices rose up, adding to the growing noise and confusion.

"What's going on?" someone shouted over the commotion.

Before anyone could answer, a strange sound filled the air.

"Wooo--"

The odd howl came from high above, making everyone shudder. Shirou looked up, his eyes widening in surprise.

Thousands of meters above them, a huge flying object shaped like a cross sped across the sky. Right after it passed, endless streams of light began to fall from the sky.

As Shirou watched, not able to look away, he realized this wasn't just light falling. The falling light was actually countless arrows made of terrifying concentrations of mana. They fell in thick groups, looking like deadly curtains of glowing rain.

People ran around trying to protect themselves. Some managed to use shields or hide to block the light arrows. Others, who weren't so lucky or were too slow, got hit by the arrows. Everyone watched in horror as the arrows seemed to make the victims' flesh and blood disappear instantly, leaving only pale skeletons. But even the skeletons didn't last long. They crumbled apart, disappearing like smoke in the wind.

They frantically waved their weapons, trying to fend off the light arrows even as the fear of death gripped their hearts.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

The sky seemed to rain death as endless light arrows fell, aiming for Shirou and the others around him. In that moment, he focused his mind. As if responding to his will, the mud stirred to life. It burst out from the shadows, quickly forming a protective membrane that spread out to shield everyone's heads.

Crack crack crack

The light arrows slammed into the mud membrane with incredible force. Yet, to everyone's amazement, they only managed to penetrate about three inches before stopping. The mud, infused with the power of the Lord of Salvation hidden within the [Evil], neutralized the arrows on contact. As Shirou watched, he could feel the arrows transforming into pure mana, which his body then absorbed, strengthening him.

Even though they were safe for now, his mind raced as he pieced things together. That deadly shadow in the sky, the one shaped like a cross, felt familiar. It reminded him of Venus. With a jolt, he realized what it had to be.

It was another UO!

"It's an Outsider attack!" someone finally shouted, putting a name to the chaos around them.

The cry seemed to snap people out of their shock. Another voice rang out, "Monsters are attacking the Sanctuary! We need to defend the city!"

Those words sparked action. People who had been frozen in fear now started moving. They gripped their weapons tightly and began to rush towards the city's wall, ready to fight for their home.

"This is bad!" Morrigan's face was pale, beads of sweat forming on her brow. "The festival coincided with the monster siege event! During the monster siege, the Resurrection Pyramid will disappear, and resurrection will be temporarily disabled! If the monster siege succeeds, the Resurrection Pyramid will remain gone until the next monster siege event, and resurrection will be disabled the whole time."

"What did you say?" Shirou stared at her in disbelief, then whipped around to look at the Resurrection Pyramid on the outskirts. The once shimmering golden pyramid that radiated hope was now flickering, hazy like a candle in the wind, as if it might disappear at any moment.

"Damn it!" His voice was urgent. "We must enter the Resurrection Pyramid before it disappears!"

Mordred's chance at regaining her intelligence and age was slipping away before his eyes. It was like his nightmare coming to life - everything he cared about, vanishing just as he reached for it.

But then Mordred pursed her lips and said, "We should defend the Sanctuary!"

He froze, caught off guard by her words.

A difference of opinion arose.