IBHJ 1058

The UOs had moved Mooncell to this location because of the wager. With White Titan Altera's true form present on Mooncell, Archimedes was bound to appear.

"Graaauuugh! Graaauuugh! Graaauuugh!"

Saturn's monsters roared, their cries echoing as they charged towards Velber 02. These creatures were programmed to destroy anything that approached the moon. This included Shirou's group who had slipped in through Pluto's gate, let alone Archimedes who had entered so brazenly. It would be a disgrace if they didn't tear him to shreds.

The monsters abandoned Shirou's group, surging towards Velber 02 like a tidal wave of claws and teeth. Starlight shimmered as the roars of the beasts shook the moon. Velber 02 and the monstrous horde clashed in a brutal battle.

Arcueid watched the carnage with a weary sigh. "Great. More invaders. Mooncell's definitely going to crash again."

"Again?" Daji's eyebrows shot up. "Have there been other invaders before?"

"Yes, and incredibly troublesome ones at that. I got spanked twice. It really hurt..." Arcueid was tearfully complaining when she suddenly looked at Daji with a puzzled expression. "Wait... when did you get here, Foxy?"

"I— What? I've been here the whole time!" Daji's jaw dropped. "President, are you seriously saying you didn't even notice me?"

"Oh, um..." Arcueid scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed. She'd been so excited to see Shirou that everything else had just sort of... faded into the background.

"I see how it is." Daji's voice dripped with theatrical hurt. "I'm just your walking ATM, aren't I, President?"

"Don't be silly!" Arcueid replied cheerfully. "You're also my personal walking storage!"

Daji promptly collapsed onto the ground, pounding her small fists against it in exaggerated despair.

Arcueid, the picture of an unrepentant troublemaker, felt no sympathy for Daji's theatrics.

Of course, if anyone else had reacted that way to her words, she would have been consumed by guilt. But Daji was different. A walking ATM... was that even human?

Daji had acted like this countless times before. The first time, she had been overwhelmed with guilt, unable to eat or sleep, constantly apologizing and trying to comfort her. But now, she was immune.

"Eternal King..." Daji raised her head, looking at him with exaggerated sorrow. "I challenge you to a duel for this slight!"

He rolled his eyes. "Stop messing around, Grandma Daji."

The situation should have been tense – they were literally in the middle of a crisis. But somehow, as always, Arcueid's presence turned everything into a cosmic comedy show. He felt his eye twitch. This woman really is a walking mood-killer...

Knock, knock, knock—

The sudden sound made them all freeze.

"Ah!" Arcueid vanished behind Shirou so fast she might have teleported, clutching his shoulders like a shield. She pointed at the door with a trembling finger. "It's—it's her!"

"Who exactly is 'her'?" he stared at her, baffled by the sudden transformation of the usually fearless woman into a quivering mess.

Arcueid's voice dropped to a terrified whisper. "The one who spanked me!" A pause, then even quieter: "She makes Morgan look nice!"

The door burst open with a loud crack, and an elegant figure stepped inside.

"You know it's pointless to hide. Hand over the core, or this time I'll spank the other cheek instead of—" she stopped dead, blue eyes widening. "Eh? Fujimaru Shirou?"

Shirou stared back, dumbfounded.

Behind him, Daji silently slipped behind Ayaka, using the girl as a human shield with practiced efficiency.

"Sis... sister..." Ayaka's voice cracked as she pointed at the woman with trembling hands, all color draining from her face.

The newcomer was Manaka Sajyou.

They thought, Oh, no.

How did he get here? Manaka wondered as she looked at Fujimaru Shirou. She had just been on a call with him, and he was clearly still on Earth.

According to her calculations, Shirou should have been roughed up by Uranus, then chased after Uranus to get here. This was supposed to happen in two days. How had he arrived so early?

Despite her confusion, Manaka maintained an elegant smile. "You've arrived as expected. This is all within my predictions."

"Really? Because that three-business-day blank stare when you saw us suggests otherwise," he cut in dryly.

Manaka's eye twitched. "Such an insolent tongue!" Her composure cracked for a moment before she smoothed her expression. "No matter. Hand over the core and Beast V to me. Considering your connection to Arthur, I'll pretend I didn't see you today."

"Shirou, don't!" Arcueid's voice squeaked from behind him, still using him as a human shield. "We can't let Mooncell fall into her hands! Here, take my sword – if you use it, you can digivolve and beat her!"

Shirou: "..."

He bit back a sigh, his expression hardening as he sized up Manaka. The woman who had devoured both Demonic Bodhisattva and Tiamat wasn't someone he could take lightly. Still... with Arcueid here, he could borrow her demonic sword. Becoming Eternal Emperor might just give them a fighting chance.

As if reading his thoughts, Manaka's lips curved into a delicate smile. She covered her mouth with one hand, letting out a soft, musical laugh that sent chills down his spine. "Oh, Shirou. Still thinking the old tricks will work? Eternal Emperor might have been enough before, but times have changed."

His muscles tensed at her words. That laugh, that carefully measured gesture of covering her mouth – it was all too deliberate. Had she already developed a counter to Eternal Emperor? Or was she laying groundwork for something else entirely? With Manaka, either option was equally terrifying.

His vigilance grew, his gaze fixed on Manaka as she gracefully stepped back. Her retreat only heightened his caution. He couldn't afford to act rashly. Manaka's confidence, coupled with the powers she had absorbed, made her a formidable opponent. More importantly, with her brilliant, scheming mind, she undoubtedly had some scheme in motion.

Then...

There was no "then."

Manaka simply offered one last elegant smile and walked out. Shirou stared at the spot where she had vanished for a full thirty seconds before realizing what had happened.

"I think my sister just played us..." Ayaka muttered, scratching her head. She had been tense as well, but after Manaka had been gone for over half a minute, even she understood.

They had been played!

Completely fooled by Manaka Sajyou!

Daji placed a hand on Ayaka's shoulder. "Master, sometimes it's better to keep quiet. Some people can be... rather small-minded about these things."

Ayaka nodded thoughtfully, while Arcueid unconsciously glanced at Shirou and giggled. "Small-minded..."

He turned and flicked her forehead.

"Ow!" she rubbed her forehead and glared at him. "What was that for?"

"Never mind that," he cut off her protests, though his eye was still twitching from the jab. Getting outsmarted by Manaka stung, but considering he'd tricked her before, they were almost even. Almost. "Why is she after the core in the first place?"

"Oh, that?" Arcueid brightened, as if she'd forgotten all about the forehead flick. "No idea! She showed up a few days before you did and started chasing me around. I've been playing hide-and-seek ever since." Her grin widened. "But now that you're here, I can stop hiding!"

He looked at the ice-blue crystalline object. "So this is what she's after?"

She nodded cheerfully, apparently unconcerned about dumping her problems onto him.

"Can you control it?"

Arcueid nodded, then shook her head. "I can influence some of its functions, but I can't change its core programming. Mooncell was designed to observe Earth and remove anything that interferes with its development."

Shirou nodded slowly. It made sense that Arcueid didn't have full access to Mooncell. After all, it was built by aliens to observe and run experiments on Earth. And this was the same Mooncell that had driven Crimson Moon to madness. It had hollowed out the moon to house its main system, yet its core was just this crystal.

"Can you locate where Mooncell's keeping White Titan?"

"Yep!"

"Think you could take us there?"

"Of course!" she beamed at him like he'd just suggested a fun outing. "Just give me a sec to check!"