IBHJ 1063

Just as he spoke, a deafening explosion roared from outside, shaking the entire chamber violently.

"Shirou, there's a powerful energy surge outside. Heaven's Corpse and Venus are fighting!" Arcueid shouted over the rumbling.

He nodded, but his eyes remained fixed on Manaka. He didn't dare let his guard down. This woman was the root of all their problems, the architect of their suffering. She was always one step ahead, always in control. She was terrifyingly dangerous.

"Don't look at me like that, Fujimaru Shirou." Manaka chuckled. "I'm not your enemy right now."

As if to punctuate her words, White Titan cried out in pain.

Everyone turned to see her snow-white body covered in a dense, horrifying pattern of stars. She clutched her head, slamming it against the ground as if something was tearing at her mind.

"What did you do to her?!" he demanded.

"Me? I didn't do anything." She spread her hands, still smiling. "Someone just happened to crack the Moon Cell's local security protocols. And you know how it goes—without the Moon Cell's suppression, some things revert to their true nature."

"Run-- please, you have to run--!" White Titan clutched her head, her eyes bloodshot, screaming hysterically. "Get away from-- AHHH!"

The diamond-shaped crystal embedded in her forehead pulsed with a bloody red light, and a wave of dark energy rippled outwards from her enormous body. Where it touched, flowers shriveled and grass turned to dust. The aura of the Anti-Civilization, the force that could destroy entire planets, poured from her, blanketing the ground.

Ayaka's face creased with worry. "Altera..."

White Titan's body swayed. "Please... stay back..." she gasped. "Command confirmed. Initiating harvest protocol." She doubled over, fingers digging into her head. "No... I won't... I can't hurt them... Target acquired: Sol System. Beginning civilization extinction sequence."

Ayaka pressed a hand to her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. Every muscle in Altera's face was contorted in a war between woman and weapon, between the gentle soul she'd become and the destroyer she was made to be. It was like watching someone being torn apart from the inside.

"Run!" White Titan roared. All traces of reason vanished from her eyes, replaced by a chilling madness. She stood tall, her gaze merciless. The red glow in her eyes was like that of a god, holding the power of life and death. The energy radiating from her colossal form intensified, instantly killing every plant in the chamber. Flowers, grass, trees—all withered and died.

"A-Altera..." Ayaka stammered.

White Titan's head snapped towards her, those red eyes as cold and ancient as millennia-old ice. She raised her hand and swung it down with terrifying force.

"Ayaka!" Shirou's eyes contracted, and Manaka's right eye twitched. But Altera was too fast. Lost to her instincts, she attacked her Master, the person she cared about the most, without hesitation.

A flash of red light erupted as the demonic sword changed into a beam of energy, shooting across the chamber like a red spear. It struck White Titan's massive fist just feet from Ayaka. The impact sent Arcueid flying backwards, her body scraping against stone as she slid across the floor. But her quick action gave Ayaka a precious moment to escape. Koyanskaya grabbed Ayaka's shoulders and yanked her sideways. They rolled together, barely getting clear of White Titan's descending fist.

The giant fist slammed into the ground, smashing stone into dust.

The chamber shook with the force of the blow, old pillars shaking like trees in a storm. The floor cracked and split open, cracks spreading out in every direction. Debris rained down as the ceiling began to collapse, huge chunks of stone falling towards them.

Shirou glanced at Manaka, then darted towards Arcueid. He grabbed her shoulders as he spread his black wings wide. With a powerful beat that sent dust flying everywhere, he lifted her into the air. He dodged through the falling rocks, swerving left then right as he flew out of the crumbling chamber, stone scraping his wings as the entrance fell apart behind them.

He hovered in the air, his wings beating steadily as he held Arcueid. He stared at the rubble that had been the chamber, his expression grim.

Suddenly, the ground beside them fractured like a shattered mirror. Manaka Sajyou stepped out of the rift, a calm smile on her face. "Well. This is becoming rather messy."

He said nothing and stared at her silently.

"Isn't this all your fault?" Arcueid snapped, her voice laced with anger.

"You misunderstand," Manaka replied calmly. "I have no interest in Ultimate Ones or the Velber. They are merely weak manifestations of Akasha. My goal is the core of the Moon Cell."

"Akasha this, Akasha that, I don't understand any of it!" Arcueid's crimson eyes flashed. "But I know you're not a good person!"

Manaka's smile widened. "I was never human. The concepts of good and evil do not apply to me."

Arcueid sputtered, anger rendering her speechless. Though she was the True Ancestor of Gaia and the Moon Princess, her time with Shirou and the others in Britain had awakened a longing for humanity within her. Manaka Sajyou, on the other hand, had been born human, yet she cast aside her humanity without a second thought.

"I didn't cast it aside," Manaka corrected. "I was never truly human to begin with. I tried to live as one, but eventually, I realized that no matter how much I pretended, I could never change that truth. Just like that Velber. No matter how much she pretends to be Altera, to be human, she cannot change what she is. She can play house, pretend at being human, wrap herself in Altera's memories... but beneath everything, Velber is Velber. The destroyer will always destroy."

Manaka glanced at the ruined chamber, then looked up at Shirou. "And you, Fujimaru Shirou, are the same. No matter how many times you repeat these loops, no matter how many connection points you clear, you are still just an extension of a mortal. You cannot defeat me, let alone the Lord of Salvation."

"Cannot defeat you?" He met her gaze with a calm expression. "I stopped believing in 'impossible' a long time ago."

Manaka's lips twitched, something between a smile and a sigh as she tapped her forehead with delicate fingers. "Oh, Shirou. We both know you've failed countless times. When will this stubbornness of yours fade?"

A series of explosions roared from the collapsing chamber. Massive chunks of rock were thrown into the air, then crashed back down, revealing White Titan's colossal form amidst the debris.

Rocks tumbled down her powerful frame like waterfalls. She threw back her head and roared, her terrifying power surging outwards like a storm. Even the laws of the Mooncell seemed to crack and break before her destructive force, the air itself warping under the pressure.

The space around them split open, showing bright gaps that leaked light and energy. Even Shirou and Manaka couldn't ignore this overwhelming force. Manaka raised her hand, tearing a hole in the air that pulled in the wild energy like a drain. The edges of the hole glowed white-hot.

Arcueid moved just as fast, using her Marble Phantasm to create a dark sphere that sucked in the chaos. Her feet dug into the ground as she fought to keep steady, sweat running down her face.

"What is that?" Arcueid pointed towards the White Titan, her eyes widening in surprise.

He followed her gaze and saw a massive, damaged starship flickering in and out of existence within the torn space.

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