IBHJ Chapter 906

Shirou took a deep breath. There was no other way. He focused, and Evil Blossom, lurking in his shadow, surged into the ground. With a boom, the earth cracked, and massive boulders shot up towards the sky, slamming into the angels. They tried to dodge, but they were still absorbing his mana blast, like a couple about to climax but suddenly interrupted by police breaking in, their faces panicked but unable to cover up in time. As a result, the flying rocks smashed into them.

Seizing the opportunity, Chain broke free from the angels' encirclement and fled with Shirou.

Mordred rushed after them, but one angel was still hot on her heels.

Chain reached out, and several golden chains, like serpents, wrapped around the ankles of the angel, yanking it hard into the angel pit behind them. By the time the angels clambered out of the rubble, Shirou and the others were long gone.

Using this opening, they hid in a secluded cave.

Peeking out from behind the cave wall, Shirou looked up at the scattered angels in the sky and breathed a sigh of relief before returning to the cave.

"We're safe for now, those angels' patrol route doesn't include this area," he said. "But we can't let our guard down, we're still in a dangerous situation."

"Indeed, in these Unexplored Zones, neither teleportation nor outside communication works," Chain nodded, then looked at him and said, "Thank you for earlier, Evil Flower. No, I should say, King of Knights. I didn't realize you were a Heroic Spirit, the famous hero from British legend. I was quite rude."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't expect you to be the famous Enkidu either."

"However, you don't seem to be Heroic Spirits summoned by this land," Enkidu said.

"Summoned by this land?"

Enkidu nodded, "Yes, before this Connection Point became what it is now, the high priest used the world's ley lines to perform a Heroic Spirit summoning. But because the High Priest misjudged the speed of digital erosion, I was the only one successfully summoned."

"I see," he nodded, "We are Heroic Spirits from Chaldea. I am Artoria, and this is my daughter, Mordred. Of course, because she has used up too many revival chances here, her body and mind have regressed."

He explained their situation to Enkidu.

"I see."

Enkidu leaned against the cave wall, nodding slightly to show she understood. She turned her head, her emerald eyes falling on Mordred, "Using up too many resurrection chances is definitely troublesome."

"Is there any way to recover?" he asked, patting Mordred's small head and turning to Enkidu.

Though the childlike Mordred was adorable, he wanted her back to normal.

"It's difficult to say. After this world was digitized, the existing civilization collapsed, and a new one centered around adventurers arose. That's what you see now," Enkidu explained.

This information was no secret. It was common knowledge in this world. Even if she didn't say it, Shirou could have learned it from any adventurer.

"As I suspected. Unlike players, the adventurers are the natives." Shirou nodded. He had gleaned this from snippets of conversations among the adventurers, but Enkidu's words confirmed it.

"Yes. And the basic requirement to become an adventurer is to be an adult, with one's age in years representing the number of resurrections. Each death results in reverse aging by one year, with the lost age and developed intelligence stored in the pyramid."

"Once all resurrection chances are used up, one becomes a baby and is completely absorbed into the pyramid. Additionally, after the pyramid takes age and intelligence, the body and intellect cease to develop. In other words, there's no growth until the intelligence and age are retrieved."

"So, the cost of death is losing the ability to grow?" he asked.

Enkidu nodded.

"Is there any way to retrieve the age and intelligence?"

"There might be, but I'm afraid I don't know," Enkidu shook her head.

Shirou looked down at Mordred, who was clinging to his leg with a smile.

He pursed his lips.

If he wanted to maintain this close bond with Mordred, perhaps leaving her age and intelligence as they were was the best option. But that would only make him happy, and from a certain perspective, it would be the same as killing Mordred and erasing her personality.

The Pyramid!

The Holy Land!

Shirou knew deep down that he had to go there. Whether it was to restore Mordred's mind or to resolve this Connection Point, the Holy Land was a necessary destination.

"By the way, Enkidu, what exactly is Emperor Frieza?" he asked.

Emperor Frieza was the ultimate antagonist of this game and the main obstacle to resolving this Connection Point. In gaming terms, he was the final boss of the South American connection point map. However, faced with this question, Enkidu was unusually silent.

Hmm? Shirou was puzzled, wondering if it was a sensitive topic. He tried again, "Also, since you're Enkidu, then that particularly arrogant woman must be Gilgamesh, right?"

"Yes," Enkidu nodded, "It's Gil, but arrogant..."

Enkidu looked helpless, "I'd rather you didn't describe him like that since you're all comrades from Chaldea. Although he's different from you and hasn't entered this Connection Point physically, instead using an external device to access it as a player..."

"Arrogant is putting it mildly. But what about Emperor Frieza? What's his true identity?"

Faced with this question, Enkidu fell silent again.

This time, he understood: "You can't answer that question, can you?"

Enkidu nodded helplessly, "Any information about Frieza is forbidden. I can't even hint at it, or the system will automatically block me. I actually tried to answer you earlier, but the system wouldn't let me."

He nodded, thinking, That explains your strange, constipated expression.

"I'm sorry, but this is a game rule we have to follow, just like having to shout those opening lines when using the Super Saiyan skill," Enkidu said apologetically. Even she felt embarrassed about the Super Saiyan lines, but there was no way around it.

Shirou nodded in understanding.

"By the way, Mom,"

At that moment, Mordred, who was clinging to his leg, looked up. Her clear eyes innocently looked at him as she said, "Since that arrogant woman is Gilgamesh, we can tell him about our situation, right? That way, we can contact Chaldea. Both Gray and Emiya escaped this Connection Point before using up all their revivals. We can ask them how they did it."

"Ask Gil for help? Though it's not very nice to say as his friend, I suggest you don't," Enkidu said, a little awkwardly as she traced a finger along her cheek.

Clearly, talking about her friend behind his back made even her a little uncomfortable.

"Why?" Mordred tilted her head, her blue eyes looking at Enkidu in confusion.

"Because instead of reporting our situation to Chaldea, that guy is more likely to come hunt us down with a face full of joy."

The one speaking wasn't Enkidu, but Shirou.

Enkidu looked at him in surprise, saying somewhat unexpectedly, "You understand Gil well, King of Knights."

Shirou: "...I wouldn't say I understand him. Maybe we just have similar tastes in certain things."

If Gilgamesh learned that Evil Flower was actually "Artoria," he would most likely gleefully hunt down Evil Flower in front of "Shirou." In doing so, he could enjoy the helpless and angry looks on "Shirou's" face as he kept saying provocative things to make his expression even better.

Of course, that's under normal circumstances. In the current situation, Shirou and Artoria had swapped records and bodies. So if Gilgamesh tried to kill Evil Flower, he would see through "Shirou's" and "Artoria's" true identities due to their unusual reactions, figure out the body swap, and then continue hunting them down anyway.

As for why Shirou was so sure about this...

Well, if he put himself in Gilgamesh's shoes, Shirou would definitely kick him while he was down, relishing Gilgamesh's misery and listening to his wails of frustration. Wouldn't that be enjoyable?"

So, thinking about it, Gilgamesh would definitely do the same.

After all, this Gilgamesh wasn't the same as the one who became his Servant, the one he could trust. This Gilgamesh was a pretty boy on the surface, but at heart, he was an immature, foul-mouthed brat. So not only could they not tell Gilgamesh about their situation, they had to actively hide it from him. Luckily, although Enkidu and Gilgamesh were friends, she had no intention of betraying them and telling him.

"Let's forget about Gil. How about you talk to Morrigan," Enkidu suggested.

Mordred asked curiously. "Morrigan? You mean that gloomy-faced, always tired-looking, super weird aunt who looks like a monster?"

What kind of image of Morrigan does she have? Shirou looked at Mordred helplessly, then turned to Enkidu and asked, "Is Morrigan also nearby?"

"Yes," Enkidu nodded, "That Sweet Little Girl is Morrigan."

He recalled the female player who had confronted Gilgamesh at the inn earlier. So that was Morrigan.

"I see," he nodded, "Thank you for telling me this."

"It's nothing, after all, you also gave us the God Brain," Enkidu replied with a smile.