IBHJ 1057

This was Connection Point. This was incomplete timeline. It was so similar to reality, yet fundamentally different.

"Look—!" Ayaka suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards the moon.

He followed her gaze and saw the moon's surface swarming with countless asteroids, like an asteroid belt.

"Those are Saturn's minions," Heaven's Corpse explained. "If you tried to fly directly to the moon from Earth, you'd have to fight your way through those monsters."

"Are they strong?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, much stronger than the magical beasts and monsters on Earth. Stronger even than the manufactured God Warriors. But if we go through Pluto's gate, they won't attack us."

He nodded. This was clearly a strategy built into the game, and the asteroid belt surrounding the moon was meant to be impassable. But since they had entered through Pluto's gate, they shouldn't have to worry about it.

Nothing to worry about...

Buzz buzz buzz

Suddenly, one of the asteroids began to vibrate.

Shirou: "?"

Buzz buzz buzz. More asteroids started vibrating, one after another. Then, they began to fall like a meteor shower.

BOOM—BOOM!

The ground erupted as craters formed from the impacts. Shirou awkwardly dodged the falling asteroids, shooting a glare at Heaven's Corpse. "I thought you said they wouldn't attack!"

"Th-this... this shouldn't count as an attack, right?" Heaven's Corpse blinked, flustered.

"Oh?" He vanished and reappeared thirty feet away as another asteroid obliterated his previous position, leaving a smoking crater in its wake. "Then please, enlighten me - what exactly would you call this?"

"Maybe they got tired of hanging in space and came down for a rest?" She offered weakly.

He stared at her, speechless. Tired of floating in zero gravity? Is it me, or is it you who's completely lost it?

"Raaawwrrr! Raaawwrrr!"

The asteroids that had crashed into the ground suddenly sprouted limbs, transforming into huge monsters with ferocious faces. They scrambled out of their craters and charged towards Shirou and his group.

Beasts roared, demons howled, and monstrous figures surged forward. It was like they had stumbled into a monster's graveyard.

Shirou's expression darkened as he turned and ran. "What about now?" he shouted over his shoulder. "Do you still think this doesn't count as an attack?"

"Th-this—" Heaven's Corpse stammered, completely bewildered. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! According to the game mechanics, Saturn's monsters shouldn't have activated. But now... why?

She glanced at Shirou as he sprinted away, and in that moment, she understood. A pained expression crossed her face, and she quickened her pace to catch up.

"Of all people, why did Tethys and Gaia pick such an unlucky guy?" She muttered under her breath.

"Who exactly are you calling unlucky?!" Shirou snapped over his shoulder, his eyes blazing. If they weren't being chased by what looked like reject kaiju from a cheap Ultraman film, he would've stopped to teach her a lesson about bringing up old wounds and the basic rules of not hitting people in the face.

Despite being chased by a horde of monsters, he wasn't panicking. They weren't as fast as him, and Daji was carrying Ayaka, allowing them to move quickly. Still, being constantly pursued wasn't ideal.

Suddenly, a voice rang out in his ear.

"Right side, Shirou!"

It was Arcueid!

Without hesitation, he followed her instructions, taking a sharp right at the upcoming intersection. A few steps later, he felt the ground give way beneath his feet. He looked down to see the ground dissolving into spirit particles, forming a gaping hole. Before he could react, he was falling.

"Ah—!" Ayaka screamed.

Shirou started to activate Evil Blossom to support them, but Heaven's Corpse snapped her fingers. Instantly, countless flowers bloomed, using the planet's surface as soil. One giant flower after another unfurled, catching the falling group.

The surrounding space was pitch black, like a dimensional void with no solid ground. Suddenly, everything shifted, and they were transported to a deep blue space.

"Shirou—!"

A familiar voice called out from below, filled with joy. Shirou looked down from his perch on the giant flower petal and saw Arcueid waving at him.

His face lit up.

"Arcueid!"

He jumped down, a wide smile spreading across his face. He had met her once before on the past plane, but that had been an illusion. This was the real Arcueid, standing right in front of him.

"Shirou—"

Arcueid rushed towards him, her face alight with happiness. Finally, she was reunited with a dear friend. It should have been a heartwarming moment.

But as she ran towards him, he sidestepped. With a thud, she crashed to the ground, her forehead slamming against the floor.

She rubbed her forehead and shot him a displeased look. "Ow... what was that for, Shirou?" Her lower lip jutted out in a pout. This wasn't how their reunion was supposed to go at all – where were the emotional embraces, the tearful welcome home?

"I should be asking you that," he retorted, glancing at her. "Running off to the moon without a single word, and what – you expected me to welcome you back with open arms?"

"Ah, that..." Arcueid was taken aback. She thought he had forgiven her. Why was he bringing it up now? Was he really that petty? Then she remembered – this was Shirou. The man could hold a grudge like no other.

She bounced back to her feet, trying to salvage the moment with a playful smile. "Come on, don't be so cold! I'm sorry, okay? I was trying to save the world from Crimson Moon – doesn't that count for something?"

"I'm not angry that you left," he explained. "I'm angry that you hid from us when you came back. Did you really think Artoria and I would blame you for what happened with Crimson Moon? After everything we've been through together?"

Arcueid's shoulders hunched as she poked her index fingers together, looking more like a scolded child than the powerful being she was. "Of course I trust you guys..." She peered up at him through her bangs. "But I looked for you everywhere and couldn't find you! And anyway, if someone hadn't picked a fight with Crimson Moon back in the fifth century, none of this would have happened in the first place."

"I— what?" Shirou's mouth hung open as his brain tried to process this spectacular leap in logic. Somehow, in true Arcueid fashion, she'd managed to turn his centuries-old battle into the root cause of her disappearing act.

He was speechless. How had this suddenly become his fault?

"Anyway, you shouldn't make us worry," he said. He had often looked up at the moon, missing Arcueid, but this troublesome woman hadn't even left Earth. She had just been hiding, making them worry and feel sad for so long.

But what actually came out of his mouth was: "Artoria was often gazing at the moon and missing you, but you never even left Earth. Making friends worry is what troublesome women do."

"I'm sorry..." Arcueid's apology was soft, but then a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes as she leaned closer. "But what about you, Shirou? Did you miss me too?"

"Hah!" He scoffed, turning his head away too quickly. "Miss you? Please. Do I look like some sentimental fool to you? I would've preferred if you'd stayed on the moon permanently."

"Hmph." She puffed out her cheeks and glared at him. "You're so mean!"

"Don't let him fool you, Lady Arcueid," Ayaka chimed in, coming over to stand beside them. "When he was at Chaldea, I caught him flying up to stare at the moon more than once."

"Oh really?" Arcueid's eyes widened.

"That's not true," he said flatly.

Arcueid ignored him and looked expectantly at Ayaka.

"Really!" Ayaka nodded. "If you don't believe me, you can ask the King of Knights later. She saw it too." She turned to look at him and sighed. "It's honestly ridiculous. Five minutes ago he was going on about you, and now that you're here, he's acting like he couldn't care less." She shook her head. "Since when did you become such a tsundere, Mr. Shirou? It really doesn't suit a grown man, you know."

Shirou wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole. His face burned as Arcueid hung on Ayaka's every word, drinking in these mortifying revelations with obvious delight. Ayaka, please... Have mercy. Is it too much to ask to let me keep a shred of dignity?

"BOOM—"

The ground suddenly shook violently.

"What's happening?" he asked, his expression hardening. "Are Saturn's monsters catching up?"

"No, something else is forcing its way in," Arcueid replied with a frown. She waved her hand, and a huge spherical object behind her began to emit a faint light.

When did that get here? Shirou stared at the massive sphere. He had been so focused on Arcueid that he hadn't noticed anything else, let alone such a conspicuous object.

"This is Mooncell's core," Arcueid explained. "With it, we can observe everything within the South American Connection Point, including everything on the moon. But since Uranus manifested, Earth has become harder to monitor, so we can only observe the moon now."

Just as she finished speaking, images of the moon's surface appeared within the huge sphere.

A sea of beasts rampaged across the moon's surface, their twisted forms casting long shadows in the lunar light. Suddenly, a rainbow light streaked across the sky with a deafening boom, cutting through the vacuum of space. Its terrifying power tore through the monstrous horde, creating a dazzling display of fireworks as the land exploded into particles of mana.

Shirou stared at the devastating rainbow light, then followed its trajectory to its source. A massive starship was slowly descending from space, its hull gleaming with massive cannons that glowed an angry red.

It was Velber 02!

Shirou's eyes narrowed. "Archimedes is indeed here!"