IBHJ Chapter 904

They had initially headed into the heart of the map. To get back to Thunder Mountain Cave, they'd have to pass through the dense forest again. But with hunter angels patrolling the skies and unknown enemies targeting them from afar, they chose a narrow path concealed by thick foliage.

The narrow path was enveloped by trees, their broad leaves forming a natural canopy that shielded them from the eyes of both the angels above and any unseen enemies.

"By the way, senior," he asked, glancing at Chain, "are hidden maps common?"

"Not common, but unique to the Holy Land. We call them Unexplored Zones," Chain replied.

"Unexplored Zones?"

Chain nodded, then said with a smile, "This isn't your first encounter with an Unexplored Zone, Miss Evil Flower."

Shirou's eyes widened. "The Gatekeeper's Cave in the newbie village, that was an Unexplored Zone?"

Chain looked at him in surprise, then nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"So, do these Unexplored Zones have something to do with the God's Brain... or rather, the Goddess, and Emperor Frieza?"

Chain nodded again. "The Unexplored Zones are connected to Frieza, and fragments of the Goddess exist within them. Legend says the Goddess knows Freeza's weakness. If we gather the fragments hidden by Frieza and awaken the Goddess, we can learn how to defeat him and save this world. But the key to all of this is the God's Brain, which holds the Goddess's soul."

Shirou realized that these people were working on the main storyline quest, but the most crucial item was in his possession. The main quest was linked to fixing the Connection Points, so their interests should align, and cooperation might be possible.

But there was a catch. The main quest required goddess fragments, which could be found in Unexplored Zones and existed in the Holy Land. And the only way to enter the Holy Land was to reach Level 9.

In other words, if they wanted to work together, Shirou would have to grind his way to level 9. Otherwise, it was all just a pipe dream.

But would the One King wait for him?

Obviously not.

Whether in the real world or in-game, power is the foundation of cooperation. Without it, even in a game, you'd just be a liability and might get flamed by your teammates if make a mistake.

Sure, Shirou could hand over the God's Brain.

But that was never going to happen.

It wasn't about control. It was about the fact that the God's Brain was the key to this connection point, the linchpin that held everything together. Having it meant being hunted and facing all sorts of trouble, but it also meant having the upper hand.

From the start, cooperating with these Lv 9 adventurers wasn't an option.

"Guardians exist within the Unexplored Zones, protecting the goddess fragments," Chain explained. "They're incredibly powerful; even our Guild struggles to defeat them. But we haven't gone that deep into the map, so we won't run into them."

He nodded.

As they emerged from the dense forest, they could see the entrance to Thunder Mountain Cave in the distance. Safety was just steps away.

There were few Angels in the sky because this was the edge of the Unexplored Zone, so even they didn't patrol here often.

With Chain covering their backs, they made a break for the cave entrance. But as they leave the dense forest, the sky above abruptly darkened.

A massive cluster of strange, dark clouds blotted out the sun, casting long, ominous shadows across the ground.

"What the-?" Shirou looked up, the golden ahoge on his forehead twitching. Thousands of Angels of Destruction filled the sky, staring down at them with empty eyes.

Chain's face went pale. "Run! If you die here, you'll respawn on the spot!"

Another infinite death loop respawn point!

Shirou didn't hesitate; he grabbed Mordred's hand and bolted toward the cave.

"You disturb my beauty sleep and think you can just run away?"

A familiar, irritated voice boomed from above, echoing through the forest. A massive meteorite, trailing smoke and fire, plummeted from the sky with a deafening roar, sealing the cave entrance in a shower of dust and debris.

Silence fell, broken only by the crackling of cooling stone. Then, an elegant figure slowly descended from the sky, her eyes glittering with anger.

Shirou and the others stopped and gazed up. A girl with twin tails sat atop a bow-shaped flying boat, gracefully floating down to block their path.

"So you're the ones who woke me up, huh?" the girl with black twintails snarled. "Let me tell you, unless you offer up a treasure that makes my eyes pop, I'm not forgiving you for interrupting the beauty sleep of a goddess who embodies gentleness, generosity, passion, and all things lovely."

--

Yagami Hayate Lv9 (Boss)

Race: Magical Girl

--

Shirou's eyes widened as he stared at the girl. Yagami Hayate was beautiful, her whole being radiating a youthful, sunny aura.

But that wasn't the most surprising thing.

"Tohsaka... Rin?" Shirou asked hesitantly.

At this, "Yagami Hayate" stopped twirling a strand of hair around her finger. Her red eyes flickered towards him. "How do you know my name... wait, you look kind of familiar..."

She squinted, studying him carefully. Then, with a gasp, she exclaimed, "The King of Knight?"

...

Tohsaka Rin felt that her luck, her life, was truly cursed.

She thought back on her childhood, losing her sister and the family crest she was meant to inherit. Forced to team up with someone she absolutely despised, only to be outshone by her in every way.

In her youth, her hometown was invaded by aliens, her body possessed by an incredibly shameless goddess. Through sheer willpower, she managed to resist the goddess and reach an agreement. She thought she could finally live a happy life, but then the Council destroyed human civilization in 2012, forcing her to join Chaldea and fight in the war over Connection Points. And a few years ago, during a battle, she was captured by a blonde angel.

"You've borrowed my power for far too long," the angel had said. "It's time to repay your debt."

With those words, the angel brought her here. She and Ishtar had fought back, but they were completely overpowered and forced to become guardians of this place.

What a miserable, failure-filled life!

After that whole ordeal, Rin had retreated into a hermit's life, far from the chaos of the world. Her days were spent arguing with Ishtar (who shared her body), sleeping, or daydreaming about her friends and family back home.

But today, not only had her precious sleep been interrupted, the usually silent system was spamming her with notifications and obnoxious sounds. It was obvious intruders had entered this paradise, and it was her duty as guardian to deal with them.

To her surprise, the intruders turned out to be people she knew.

"Saber, I never expected you to be the intruder," Rin said. "But if you're here, does that mean Chaldea is attacking this connection point?"

"Yes," he nodded.

Chaldea hadn't actually made an official statement about the South American connection point, but he couldn't tell her that. Besides, even though Rin was merged with Ishtar, she didn't seem to see through his "Artoria" disguise.

"How did you end up as the BOSS here?" he asked, wondering if Rin had also been captured by the Council and brought here, like Merem Solomon.

"Boss? You mean guardian?... It's a long story, and I don't want to talk about it. Besides, we weren't exactly close friends. Trying to get chummy with me to escape isn't going to work," Rin said, pointing at him.

"Is it not?"

"Definitely not. I'll be in trouble if I don't do my job. And since you're in a party with that girl, there's no way I'm letting you go," Rin said, gesturing towards Chain.

Chain's delicate face fell as Rin pointed at her. "You recognized me?"

"Don't think you can fool a goddess's eyes by changing your face," Rin retorted, tapping a finger under her eye. "A goddess's eyes can see through disguises and perceive the true essence of the soul."

Then how come you didn't see through mine? Shirou thought. But clearly, even a goddess's eyes couldn't pierce the mystery of the Vortex.

Chain sighed, a helpless look on her face. "So I guess there's no escaping this. And here I thought I'd made such a good face for myself. It's like an elementary schooler who proudly shows off their artwork, only to be met with mockery and sarcasm. My heart is filled with disappointment."

Rin: "....."

"Enkidu, why do you have to imitate Marduk?" Rin said, rubbing her temples. She despised Marduk's weird metaphors, which he thought were hilarious but were actually cringeworthy.

Enkidu? Shirou looked at Chain in surprise. This woman was Enkidu?

So that meant the One King was Gilgamesh?

"Whatever. After dealing with you, I only have 497 more adventurers to go before I'm free. For the sake of my freedom, just obediently wait for death!"