IBHJ Chapter 909

Shirou nodded. He was well aware of this. This hidden map had transformed into a hunting ground. The entire map was the hunter, and they were its prey.

It reminded him of the Forest of Einnashe, but the malice and oppressive atmosphere here were far worse.

Then, a system message flashed before his eyes:

[System: Sword of Promised Victory's effect activated, destructive power increased by 10000%!]

[System: Sword of Promised Victory's effect activated, destructive power increased by 10000%!]

The twin Excaliburs' effect had triggered again. This meant the mutated hidden map was recognized as an alien invader, a threat capable of ending the world.

Honestly, ever since they entered this South American connection point, Excalibur's special effects had been going off like crazy. It had triggered before when facing the Angel of Destruction and the NPC gatekeeper. Shirou figured that whether it was the gatekeeper, this hidden map, or even Emperor Frieza, they were all alien invaders – the reason behind this South American digitization.

"Gaga gaga—"

The demon faces in the sky, failing to snare Shirou and the others with their vines, gnashed their teeth in frustration, emitting disturbing wails. A fierce wind whipped through the air, gathering debris that coalesced with sharp cracks into stone bodies, each one attempting to wear one of those grotesque faces.

"Not a chance!"

Enkidu shouted, chains shooting from her body like a meteor shower. She shattered the stone bodies, forcibly clearing a path.

But it was a path of death.

In this hidden map, malice permeated everything, every entity hellbent on targeting Shirou and his companions.

Suddenly—

"Make way, make way, make waaaaaay—!!"

A mortifying shriek echoed from above. Shirou looked up to see the golden boat Maanna, carrying a humiliated goddess, plummeting toward them like a cannonball.

Just as they were about to be crushed, Evil Blossom emerged from his shadow, forming a giant hand that smacked the boat down. With a resounding thud, the goddess was pinned to the ground like Sun Wukong under the Buddha's palm, her eyes spinning.

"This thing can defend and attack on its own?" Enkidu stared at the mud in astonishment.

She could sense it was a tool with both offensive and defensive capabilities, but the malice... Enkidu instinctively scowled. Yet, the King of Knights seemed unfazed... Wait, wasn't the King of Knights supposed to be a pure and noble king? How could she accept this mud filled with such malice? Enkidu was baffled.

After swatting away the falling debris, the mud retreated back into Shirou's shadow as if it had never been there.

"Ow ow ow ow... That hurt!" Rin groaned, rubbing her backside with a pained expression.

"I feel so gross, it's like my divine core fell into that abomination and my pure white spirit was violated. It makes me wanna hurl..." Rin stood up clutching her chest, looking nauseous. Even Ishtar couldn't withstand the potent curse and malice that the black mud had absorbed from the Vortex.

She felt any further contact with the mud would surely contaminate her divine core, jeopardizing her very existence.

While Rin was overwhelmed by the Evil Blossom's malice, Shirou glanced at Enkidu, who understood the silent gesture and extended the Chains of Heaven to bind Rin like a dumpling.

"Wh-what is this? The Chain of Heaven?" Rin stared at the chain binding her, then looked up at Shirou and the others, her face filled with shock. "You guys... how are you here?"

"No, now's not the time for that. Enkidu, let me go! You don't want to die here, do you? You don't want to be eaten and unable to return to the Throne of Heroes, right? So untie me, we're on the same side now!" Rin pleaded, all traces of her usual elegance and arrogance gone.

"What do you mean, Rin?" he asked.

"If you die here..."

Before she could finish, a series of explosions ripped through the air. Rin's face paled: "Oh no, they've caught up!"

He looked up to see dozens of Angels of Destruction bursting through the misty clouds, trailing long plumes of smoke as they plunged towards them.

Their once pristine white wings were now stained crimson, their bodies radiating an aura of pure malice.

"Those things are attacking you?" Shirou furrowed his brow, looking at Rin. "Your own subordinates?"

"No time to explain, just untie me!" she urged.

Understanding the urgency of the situation, Enkidu released Rin without waiting for his order.

With a rumble, the ground split open, countless debris forming into grasping stone arms reaching for them.

He shattered the arms with Excalibur and, together with the others, fled in the same direction.

"What the hell happened, Rin?" he couldn't help but ask.

For Rin, the final boss, to be chased and hunted by her own minions was ludicrous. And for a boss to be hunted to this degree of humiliation... he was impressed by how low she could fall.

"What do you mean what happened? You woke that thing up!" Rin retorted.

"That thing? What thing?"

He was full of confusion, but Enkidu beside him was shocked. "Aren't they supposed to avoid directly attacking adventurers?"

"How do you know that rule?" Rin eyed Enkidu suspiciously, then asked with a dubious expression, "Are you a guardian too?"

"No. I'm not a guardian, I'm an adventurer. But I'm an adventurer specifically meant to conquer them."

As they were busy talking, Mordred clapped her hands, drawing his attention, "Oh, I think they're talking about the owner of the map, right, Mom?"

"Hm?" He turned to Mordred and asked, "Do you know what's going on, Mordred?"

"Maybe? This lady is Mommy's friend, and she's also a Master registered with Chaldea, yet she's the boss of this map in this game world. That means something captured and brought her here. Based on what this lady said, whatever captured her has woken up. And looking at the state of this place, that thing must be the real owner of this hidden map," she explained.

He looked at her with surprise. Was this child really supposed to be nerfed in intelligence?

"What's wrong, Mommy? Did I say something wrong?"

Hearing this, he shook his head: "I was just thinking how smart Mordred is."

"Of course I am, I'm the daughter of Mommy and that man," she puffed out her chest proudly.

"Like the kid said, the true master of this map has awakened and it's not happy. Those angels are all part of it. Don't even think about fighting it, neither Heroic Spirits nor gods stand a chance. In fact, many of the abilities and Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits, as well as the authorities of gods, were born because of it. Even my authority is like that," Rin explained.

"It's still in the early stages of waking up, so it doesn't have much destructive power yet. We need to take this chance to escape. If we don't get out before it fully awakens, we'll be consumed by it. It'll be true death, the kind where we can't even enter the Throne of Heroes," Rin said gravely.

"What exactly is this thing?" he frowned.

Rin turned to look at him and said, "Something of an even higher rank than me, a supreme god holding the power of Venus. It's the only existence that truly holds all the power of Venus. Its specific concept can't be explained or understood. If I had to say, it's something like the King of the Moon."

Hearing this, his expression changed drastically: "You mean... UO?"

...

"Heaven's Corpse, that guy Mercury ended up siding with Gaia. You're close to Gaia too. If we win in the end, do you really intend to destroy Earth?" Pluto, perched on a tree, looked down at the blond woman on the ground.

"You've imitated humans and absorbed human cognition. In human understanding, Venus and Earth are a pair of sisters that look harmonious but are actually at odds. And that is indeed the case, which is why I was born."

"Why am I the only invasive environmental breeding bed plant among the eight of us, while you are all destructive types? That's because my existence is for the purpose of one day destroying all ecosystems on Earth, hunting them down, and then grafting them onto Venus."

"So, what I will do has been destined since my birth. Therefore, any living being on Earth, once it falls into my main body, has only one path - to be hunted and devoured."

The Heaven's Corpse smiled.