IBHJ 1044

The demons gathered together, forming a sea of bones that surged towards the Sanctuary.

In Uranus's domain, the giant wooden dragon came to life. It embraced the cocoon formed by the maiden, its massive wings flapping as it soared into the sky, creating powerful gusts of wind.

Watching the ascending dragon, Shirou gripped Laevateinn tightly. He understood that this wasn't some Mooncell monster, but an aberration created by Uranus.

Uranus's authority significantly hampered the black mud, and to defeat it, he had to use Laevateinn.

Of course, using Eternal Emperor was also an option, but the power of the Formless Vortex hadn't fully recovered, and Arcueid had disappeared somewhere. Now wasn't the time to use it.

Shirou raised Laevateinn high, and the world-ending fire on its blade grew with the wind, quickly reaching hundreds of meters high. He brought the sword down sharply.

The immense fire split the sky, striking directly at Uranus's wooden dragon.

The air shuddered and split apart.

But just as the fire was about to hit the dragon, Pluto gripped her scythe and slashed through the air, opening a huge portal to the Underworld. With a pop, the fire was absorbed into the massive tear.

The portal began to grow, its hungry mouth stretching wider and wider, reaching for him and Mordred. Shirou's eyes narrowed. Without hesitation, he commanded the black mud to surge forward. The dark liquid poured into the Underworld entrance like a flood, filling the tear until it collapsed.

The immediate threat was gone, but the danger remained. Shirou watched the dragon and Pluto, his expression grim.

Evil Blossom could seal Pluto's tear, but Uranus's power held it back. Levateinn was strong enough to strike down Uranus, but it couldn't break through Pluto's tear. They countered each other perfectly.

Uranus's dragon roared, its head thrown back. Black mist spread from its maw, forming into demons that scattered in all directions. Wherever they went, light and life vanished, replaced by desolation and death.

With a beat of its immense wings, the dragon flew toward the Sanctuary.

Shirou raised Laevateinn, but Pluto intercepted him. She hovered in the air, scythe in hand.

"Don't even think about it. I won't let you touch it, Eternal King."

"You've already been defeated. You should leave," he said. "Why involve yourself in this?"

Pluto gestured towards Uranus's dragon. "Because its hatred for Gaia hasn't faded. As one of the outer three planets, Neptune wants no part in this anymore, but I can't refuse."

He didn't understand the grievances between Gaia and Uranus, since those were matters for the UOs. But clearly, Uranus had become the central figure in this conflict.

"Old man, go after Uranus. I'll handle this one," Mordred said quietly.

"Can you manage?" he asked. He knew Mordred had the Grail's final form as a trump card, but he also knew she couldn't use it. Her full strength without crossing that line, while considerable, wasn't at the Grand Servant level. It couldn't match a Beast, let alone a UO like Pluto.

"Trust me," Mordred said seriously.

Those three words were all he needed to believe her.

"I understand. Be careful. If anything happens, I'll never let you live it down."

"Hmph. I'd rather die than be mocked by you."

After a moment, she added reluctantly, "You be careful too."

He nodded, and a pair of black wings sprouted from his back, sending him soaring into the sky after Uranus's wooden dragon.

"Don't even think about it!" Pluto shouted, moving to block his path as he took off after Uranus. But at that moment, Mordred swung her sword, the brilliant beam forcing Pluto back.

"I'm your opponent!" She pointed at herself with a mischievous grin.

"Weakling!" Pluto glanced at her and swung her scythe, opening an entrance to the underworld that blasted toward Mordred.

Pluto thought that without Shirou's protection, Mordred would be instantly devoured. But to her surprise, Mordred passed right through it.

Completely unharmed!

Pluto stared at her, stunned. "You... you can actually pass through that?" She pointed a trembling finger at Mordred.

She smiled. "If it were your true form, I wouldn't stand a chance. But I know you can't use your true form, can you?"

Pluto couldn't help but frown. She couldn't use her true form because, fundamentally, she had already exited the stage. The only reason she could still act was that she was using the underworld aspect from human mythology, which allowed her to confront Shirou and the others freely.

"I've seen through you completely," Mordred said. "You're like an open book to me!"

Pluto's brows furrowed. "Then let's see what you can do, human."

Shirou was already far away, and at her speed, it would be difficult to catch him. It would be better to pressure Mordred, which might make him hesitate.

With that thought, Pluto charged down.

...

His black wings flapped and beat, creating powerful gusts of wind that propelled Shirou after Uranus. But the dragon was incredibly fast, and even he struggled to keep up.

He activated Evil Blossom, creating several mana thrusters that erupted with raw power. Energy storms blazed from them like rocket exhaust, launching him forward. His body became a streaking comet of black and white as he closed the distance.

He pulled Laevateinn mid-flight. The sword responded instantly, flames racing along its length as he poured his mana into it. The world-ending fire built and built until it burst from the blade in multiple streams, each one screaming through the air toward Uranus.

Despite its size, the massive dragon was agile and moved with startling grace, its huge body twisting between the streams of fire. It rolled and banked through the gaps in his attack, but the flames were too widespread, too intense. One stream caught Uranus's tail. The wooden structure crackled and split apart as the catastrophic fire consumed it, sending burning chunks falling from the sky. Uranus roared in pain, shaking the clouds away.

Suddenly, a series of cracking sounds filled the air. Countless wooden fragments sprouted from Uranus's burning tail, surrounding and swallowing the catastrophic fire. A new tail regenerated in its place.

Then, the scales on the new tail split open, revealing small openings that glowed like gun barrels. With a series of zings, countless beams of light erupted, dense as a rainstorm, sweeping toward him.

Shirou waved his hand, and countless chunks of mud separated from his wings, forming shields to meet the attack.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions filled the sky, a string of fireworks that brought momentary flashes of light to the dark world.

The light cannons carried Uranus's authority. Each time they hit a mud shield, the shield would dry and crack. But for every shield that broke, Shirou created another.

Uranus's attack was endless, but so was Shirou's defense. Neither could gain an advantage.

The two remained locked in a stalemate, their attacks and defenses perfectly balanced as they danced and chased across the sky.

Then he spotted it - a gap in Uranus's movements. His black wings warped and changed, stretching into massive black arms. They tore through the barrage of light cannons Uranus had launched, batting them aside like toys. At the same time, he poured his mana into Laevateinn. The blade erupted into a giant sword of flame as he brought it down in one deadly strike.

The dragon tried to twist away, but it was too slow. In desperation, it shoved the cocoon clear of its body just as Laevateinn struck. The burning blade cleaved straight through the dragon's form. Both halves of its massive body fell away from each other, trailing fire as they plunged toward the ground like twin falling stars.

Shirou looked at the undamaged cocoon. He knew it was the core of Uranus's dragon. Without hesitation, he raised Laevateinn again, ready to destroy it.

Suddenly, he felt the air grow scorching hot. A beam of light fell from the sky, blocking Laevateinn's flame and shattering the blade.

"Who?" he exclaimed.

The air trembled, and a huge shadow covered the sky, blocking out the sun. Shirou looked up and saw a massive, cross-shaped floating island descending from the clouds.

An indescribable pressure weighed down on him.

Saturn! he thought.

Moving with desperate speed, he projected another Laevateinn in his hands. The blade burst into flames as he swung it toward the exposed cocoon. But before the strike could land, something shot up from Saturn's base. A massive pillar of crystal erupted from below, rising between Shirou and his target. The mineral structure gleamed with an inner light, clear as pure water but harder than anything Earth had ever produced. Laevateinn's flames crashed against its surface without leaving even a scratch.