IBHJ Chapter 944

No. Now that he understood the scale of the Lord of Salvation's existence, Enlightened One's stance seemed very ambiguous. Was it non-involvement out of principle, or a reluctance to participate in this high-stakes gamble?

"Then, this gaming group of UOs you mentioned is probably about other UOs deciding whether to destroy Earth or not, right?" he asked.

"I'm impressed you could understand the situation so quickly," Venus looked at him in surprise. "That's exactly right."

Tiamat nodded beside them and said, "According to real-time calculations, thirteen years ago, reality was breached, and this world was invaded. During that war, Crimson Moon seized Arcueid's body, remember?"

He nodded, his expression grim. During that war, Crimson Moon had taken over Arcueid's body to manifest. If it weren't for the help of Gilgamesh, King Solomon, and others, he wouldn't have known what to do.

"The reason Crimson Moon seized Arcueid's body was because Gaia had placed her planetary senses into it, and Crimson Moon needed those senses to dominate Earth," Tiamat explained.

"With the planetary senses, Crimson Moon could avoid being cornered by Gaia and Alaya, thus rendering the special attack of the Sword of the Planet ineffective."

"And that's exactly what happened. The reason you were able to defeat him wasn't because of the sword, but because Arcueid rebelled against Crimson Moon, right?" Tiamat asked.

He nodded. Indeed, if it weren't for the help of Gilgamesh, King Solomon, Merlin, and others, as well as Arcueid's help, they would have perished back then, and who knows what would have happened to this world.

"What you don't know is that war was a signal," Tiamat said.

"A signal?" he raised an eyebrow.

"The signal for the Lord of Salvation to break through the seal. The invasion was just a tool used by the Lord of Salvation to destroy the Counter Force's barrier, allowing his followers to enter reality. That was the 'Council'," Tiamat explained.

"That's right," Venus nodded. "And when Arcueid returned to the moon to try to seize Crimson Moon's authority as the King of the Moon, she entered the Mooncell, causing a very extraordinary person to manifest. That person was Gaia."

Shirou's eyes widened in shock. "You're saying... thirteen years ago, Gaia manifested?"

"Yes. The Mooncell's authority has long belonged to the ancient civilization, and the ancient civilization was created by Gaia. So, of course, Gaia also holds Mooncell's authority. So, when Arcueid, who possessed a fragment of the planet's senses, returned to the moon and entered the Mooncell, Gaia used her power to tap into the Mooncell's data resources, causing that fragment of Arcueid's senses to manifest in the form of an Ultimate One," Venus explained, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Hearing this, his mouth twitched. Such a thing had actually happened.

"And after that," she continued, "Gaia brought Arcueid back to Earth, freed Tiamat from her imprisonment in Imaginary Space, recruited Mercury and me, and even a girl who's an amazing cook named Sakura, to fight against the 'Council'."

"Sa-Sakura?" Shirou and Artoria exchanged glances, unable to contain their curiosity. "Is it the girl with white hair who calls Tiamat 'mother'?"

"Yes, that's her," she confirmed with a nod.

His mouth twitched. What on earth had happened in these thirteen years?

"And then this one became like this," Venus sighed, gesturing towards Tiamat. "I miss the motherly, silly Tiamat."

"Hmph. If you keep talking, I won't be so polite," Tiamat grumbled, shooting Venus a disapproving look.

"Then what happened?" he asked, his expression turning serious.

Before, it all felt distant and unreal, but now that Arcueid and Sakura were involved, he couldn't afford to be so carefree anymore.

"After that? As I said before, the Lord of Salvation's power surpasses even us Ultimate Ones. He even destroyed the ancient civilization that established interstellar law. His goal is to assimilate everything into himself. The Fuyuki invasion reminded us UOs of the Lord of Salvation's threat, so we held a meeting and decided to act preemptively, to destroy the Earth and all its humans."

"Gaia manifested through the Moon Cell to prevent this, hoping to destroy the Lord of Salvation's accomplices before the other UOs acted, forcing them to reconsider. But she failed. To stop her siblings from directly destroying Earth, she agreed to accept their judgment and is now at their mercy."

"But she left a trump card," Tiamat continued. "She had Arcueid convince the other UOs to make a bet. That bet is this virtual game, and the main story mission of the God Brain you possess."

"I see, I understand... But, Arcueid persuaded the UOs? Forgive my impertinence, but is the Arcueid you're talking about the same Arcueid we know?" Artoria couldn't help but ask, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Tiamat nodded. "Yes."

"May I ask, are all UOs... of the same temperament as Arcueid?" she couldn't help but ask again.

"They are not human," Tiamat answered simply.

"Although it's unbelievable, she did indeed persuade the other UOs to make this bet," Tiamat said.

Artoria was speechless. It was indeed strange. Arcueid persuading people... did she use her fists? But with the power of these Ultimate Ones, Arcueid's fists... probably wouldn't work, right?

"I see, so it was Gaia who persuaded the UOs," Shirou suddenly said.

Eh? Artoria turned her head to look at him in confusion.

"No, it was Arcueid," Venus said with a smile.

"No, it was Gaia," he shook his head. "Because even those UOs aren't sure if destroying Earth would lead to their own destruction, right? The debris field from a planetary explosion would be immense, and besides, if a planet with Earth's mass suddenly disappears, it's uncertain how it would affect the gravitational balance of the solar system. Even a slight shift in planetary orbits could lead to catastrophic consequences over time."

This guy... Venus's smile faded, replaced by a serious expression as she stared at him intently.

A small detail that everyone, even Tiamat and their siblings, had overlooked, this guy had keenly noticed.

Indeed, it wasn't Arcueid who had persuaded the UOs, but Gaia herself. She had used the potential consequences of her own destruction to sow discord among her previously united siblings.

After all, the degree of impact would vary depending on the distance from Earth. Gaia had shamelessly exploited this point to force her siblings to give her a chance. And only after securing that agreement did Gaia send Arcueid to persuade the UOs, which naturally went very smoothly.

She did this to prevent her siblings from experiencing excessive embarrassment and causing unforeseen complications.

This truth was known only to Venus, who had been by Gaia's side throughout. Others, including Arcueid herself, were unaware of this.

Yet, this guy had seen through it immediately!

"Didn't you mention that the destruction of a planet would affect several surrounding planets? Although it was just a casual remark, it's unfortunate," Shirou said, tapping his temple. "My memory seems to be particularly good."

"Also, you've finally put away that disgusting smile," he added, looking directly at Venus.

"My smile is... disgusting?" Venus's eye twitched in annoyance.

"A smile that pretends to be kind but is actually full of malice, how could it not be disgusting? Thinking that it's imitating Crimson Moon makes it even more disgusting. Most importantly, playing both sides is the most disgusting part. If I'm not mistaken, your avatar following Pluto has already leaked the information that needed to be leaked to your brothers and sisters, right? It was you who had the system report our position. It was also you who brought Rin back twice. And you also had a hand in bringing about the UOs' judgment, right?" he asked, his voice sharp with accusation.

Hearing this, Tiamat was stunned. She turned to look at Venus, asking seriously, "Is this true?"

Venus became silent. There was a pause. Then she sighed in defeat and said with a wry smile, "Yes."