IBHJ 1064

"Archimedes?" Shirou frowned. He shook his head. "No, that's Velber's main body!"

Shirou realized the truth. This wasn't the fragment Archimedes piloted. This was the source, the original vessel shot down by the UOs millennia ago—Velber 02!

He remembered the history. Fourteen thousand years in the past, before being imprisoned by Moon Cell, Velber 02 had projected an avatar to Earth using fragments of itself. That avatar became the White Titan, and one of those fragments was the very starship Archimedes now piloted.

Moon Cell had captured Velber 02, trapping it within its digital world. This freed White Titan from Velber's influence. But now, thanks to Archimedes, she was once again under its control. Her actions had shattered Moon Cell's authority, allowing Velber 02 to return.

The enormous main body of Velber 02 hung in the empty space like a small planet, its faint light flickering like the breaths of a newly freed prisoner. And as it flickered, the Moon Cell core in Arcueid's hand pulsed with a faint glow.

"Shirou!" The color drained from Arcueid's face as she stared at the pulsing core in her palm. "The core – it's trying to call them!"

"What do you mean?" His heart dropped at her expression.

"Velber 02 is sending distress signals to the Harvester!" The words tumbled out as her fingers tightened around the core. "The Moon Cell's blocking them for now, but if even a single transmission slips through..." She didn't need to finish; they both knew what it meant.

Shirou's face paled. He hadn't expected things to reach this point. If Velber 02 contacted the Harvester or whatever is it out there in the space, there was no telling what would happen. The consequences were unthinkable.

They couldn't allow that signal to be sent!

He looked at Arcueid. "Your sword!"

Arcueid instantly understood his plan. "Catch!" She tossed the sword to him, the blade spinning through the air.

He caught the demonic sword, his eyes locked on the faint glow of Velber 02. Without looking back, he charged forward, his feet barely touching the ground.

As he moved, he closed his eyes, and his racing thoughts grew quiet. A deep calm washed over him, like sinking into still waters. Deeper and deeper he went, until he saw the Formless Vortex in his mind, dark and waiting. He placed the demonic sword within it.

A resounding boom shook the air as the quiet vortex began to turn. The power of the UO filled the empty space, mixing with all his memories of countless resets, building into something new and terrible.

Starlight poured from his body, bright and pure. Flowers burst from the broken earth, spreading across the battlefield in waves of color. The air filled with songs that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, beautiful and sad, like echoes from a forgotten world.

"Here it comes!" Arcueid grinned, eager to see Eternal Emperor in action again.

"I see, so that's what that vortex is all about. Mortality..." Manaka's eyes narrowed. "No wonder Father called it a burden." With her omniscience, she had already seen through Eternal Emperor's true nature.

Shirou transformed into Eternal Emperor and launched himself towards Velber 02. He had to stop it from summoning whatever it was; the entire star system was at stake. But just as he moved, Manaka took a step, her figure blurring as she appeared in front of him.

He stopped, frowning at her. "Are you going to stop me?"

Manaka nodded.

"Do you really think you're a match for me?" Shirou countered. Manaka was troublesome, but he believed Eternal Emperor could defeat her.

"Before, I might have been cautious," she admitted. "But now that I understand your nature, I'm even more confident. You can't defeat me, let alone the Lord of Salvation. You can't even defeat the Chairman of that Council. You're just an extension of mortality, an amalgamation of borrowed power. In the end, it's not your own." She scoffed. "Mortality."

Manaka gave a short laugh, then her expression turned serious. "Watch carefully. This is what a true vortex looks like!"

Black light flickered in Manaka Sajyou's eyes. Then, black mud and mist erupted from her body, rotating counterclockwise around her. In an instant, it formed a massive, swirling black vortex.

Cracks spread through spacetime. Black mud surged from the void, twisting everything it touched – organic matter, inorganic matter, time, space… even concepts were distorted and consumed. The world warped into a grotesque reflection of itself.

"You've got to be kidding..." Arcueid stared at the roiling mud and mist, her jaw slack. "Even Mooncell's system rules are being consumed..." She had never seen anything like it before.

In the distance, White Titan driven by her awakened instincts and Venus and Heaven's Corpse locked in battle turned to look.

"Manaka..." Shirou felt a jolt of alarm as he stared at the swirling vortex. This was undoubtedly Manaka Sajyou's true form as the vessel of the Lord of Salvation.

"Now you understand, don't you, Shirou?" Manaka's voice spiraled from the center of the vortex. "This is what it means to be a true vortex."

"I understand perfectly." He nodded. "I understand that your true form is as ugly as your soul."

"Ugly? Oh, Shirou. You're looking at pure perfection, a beauty."

"Beauty? Ask anyone – who would agree with you? Who would accept what you've become?"

"Why would I need their approval?" she scoffed. "I don't. I was born extraordinary. Why should I waste effort trying to fit in? Should a star dim itself to please those who fear its light?"

Shirou understood. Both Manaka and her vortex were his polar opposites. All of his mortal series skills... He, who had awakened these skills, was a vortex of mortality, while Manaka Sajyou's vortex was its reflection. If mortality represented unity, cooperation, and mutual aid, then her vortex represented selfishness, self-interest, and individuality.

Tethys had been right. Her vortex and the Lord of Salvation's vortex shared the same origin, yet were completely different. With this realization, Shirou abandoned any lingering illusions about Manaka Sajyou. He summoned his demonic sword and lunged.

He had to stop Velber 02!

Two black hands erupted from Manaka's vortex, seizing his demonic sword. A black sword materialized from the hands and shot towards his abdomen. Just as the black sword, imbued with immense power, was about to pierce him, runes flashed before him.

The runes crossed each other, forming a shimmering shield. With a loud clang, it knocked the strike away.

Seeing her attack fail, Manaka made dozens more black hands appear, all of them wrapping around the demonic sword and clutching it from every direction. She poured her strength into them, and the hands began ripping and tearing. With a sharp crack, the sword broke apart, and the pieces were dragged into the vortex, where they were swallowed up with horrible crunching noises.

"Ah! My sword!" Arcueid shouted.

"Your sword was pathetically weak," Manaka taunted, "but it tasted decent enough."

But as soon as she spoke, runes blazed to life along the broken sword in Shirou's grip. The shattered blade trembled, then blinding light rippled across the jagged remains as if time were reversing, and the demonic sword restored itself to its pristine form.

Shirou swung his restored sword in a blinding arc. Manaka couldn't react in time. Dozens of black hands were severed and destroyed by the demonic blade.

Arcueid grinned. "My sword isn't broken!"

Manaka roared in fury, her voice distorting with rage. She thrust her hands forward, and black mud erupted around her like a bursting dam. It rushed forward in a massive wave, rising higher and higher, threatening to drown Shirou and the Moon Cell beneath its darkness.

Starlight flickered in Shirou's eyes. Beautiful flowers bloomed one after another above the endless sea of mud, holding it back. In an instant, the churning mud transformed into a breathtaking sea of flowers.

But just as quickly, the mud fought back and erupted again, transforming into a colossal waterfall that submerged the flowers, crushing the blooms beneath its weight.

Shirou narrowed his eyes and raised from within the dark falls a gigantic lotus flower that opened its petals. Its light spread throughout the mud, forcing it to freeze in place.

Shirou and Manaka were evenly matched. They clashed again and again, their attacks sending shock waves that shook the entire moon.