IBHJ 1025

Manaka and Beast VI were now one, and their consciousness had completely merged. They had become a single entity of absolute evil - the Beast of Revelation made flesh.

It hung in the sky, its massive body shaking as it tried to force its way fully into their world. When it roared, reality itself seemed to crack. The very rules that held the world together started falling apart.

Gilgamesh, Arthur, and the Sun King began to fade, their bodies turning see-through like ghosts.

"What's going on?" Misaya's voice shook.

"We're losing our grip on this world," Gilgamesh said quietly.

Heroic Spirits had always existed and been able to manifest in the world because people believed in them, needed them, and placed their hopes in them. But Beast VI had poisoned even that simple truth, cutting off this reality from the Throne of Heroes itself.

"Arcueid, can you handle this?" Fujimaru asked, tension in his voice.

"I am Arcueid, the Great Goddess Equal to Heaven. What do you think?" She pressed a hand to her chest with pride.

The only response was uncomfortable silence.

"No one?" Arcueid glanced around. "That joke was supposed to be funny."

Fujimaru: "....."

They could only stare wordlessly.

In the middle of this crisis, she was still making jokes?

"Fine, no one appreciates good humor," she sighed. "Alright, you oversized bug. You're messing with my Mooncell. Time to take out the trash!"

Arcueid raised her hand, and pure power surged out, crystallizing into a massive moon. She launched it directly at Beast VI.

Against the vast moon, even the mighty Beast VI seemed insignificant. The impact blasted it straight into the dimensional void.

"Well, that takes care of that!" Arcueid stood tall, hands on her hips. "See? Love and justice always win."

But before her words had even faded, a deafening roar erupted from the dimensional void.

"ROARRRRR—"

Beast VI's dragon head came back through the void, jaws gaping.

"What? It's back?" Arcueid's eyes widened. She summoned another moon and hurled it forward.

But it wasn't enough.

This was Beast VI - the World-Devouring Beast of legend. Even the full force of Moonfall could only push it back to the void. Destroying it was another matter entirely.

The sight made Arthur and Gilgamesh's hair stand on end. As Arcueid kept firing moons like some planet artillery, Arthur glanced at his Holy Sword and let out a breath. "Good thing Fujimaru didn't summon her in the Holy Grail War."

Veins popped on Gilgamesh's forehead. He turned to Arthur, bristling like an angry lion. "What are you implying, Saber? My treasury has infinite possibilities!"

Arthur calmly pointed at the barrage of moons overhead. "Can you do that?"

Gilgamesh crossed his arms. "I have the Sword of the End. It can destroy the world!"

Arthur kept pointing at Arcueid. "Can you do that?"

"I can slay gods!" Gilgamesh's eyes were practically bulging now.

Arthur, still perfectly calm: "Can you do that?"

Gilgamesh: "#$%@..."

There was no denying it - Arcueid was just on another level entirely.

Arcueid had evolved beyond a True Ancestor - she was now Moon UO, inheriting Crimson Moon's true authority over the moon.

The planet's power flowed through her without limit. Combined with Demonic Sword, she could unleash Moon Fall as much as she wanted. Even Beast VI couldn't resist—each time it tried to rise, another moon would force it back into the void.

But that was as far as it went.

The endless Moon Fall could keep Beast VI down, but it couldn't destroy it. Nor could it cut off this fragment of the past.

The only possible outcome now was for Arcueid, with her infinite mana, to suppress Beast VI forever—nothing more than this stalemate.

"This is getting boring!" Arcueid grumbled. "Why don't you just let me finish you off?"

"Destroy—Destroy—!"

Beast VI's voice rumbled from the void.

The endless moons kept falling, kept pushing Beast VI back. But it wasn't enough to end this.

Then everything changed.

"Arcueid... your body..."

Fujimaru's voice shook as he pointed at her. She was fading, becoming transparent even as she continued launching infinite Moon Falls.

But something wasn't right.

Her mana hadn't decreased at all - if it had, he would have felt it through their summoning contract. Yet there she was, slowly disappearing.

What was going on?

"So you're her Master?" Ozymandias's eyes turned murderous. Without warning, he swung his staff, unleashing beams of raw mana straight at the boy.

Misaya, who had been frozen in fear until now, suddenly snapped back to her senses at this sight, her eyes contracting sharply as she shouted, "Fujimaru, run!"

What?

Shirou turned just in time to see the deadly light racing toward him. The blood drained from his face.

Gilgamesh and Arthur snapped into action, quickly summoning their weapons. Perseus joined them, all three launching everything they had at Ozymandias. But he just smiled, ignoring their attacks completely.

Arcueid moved to help, but before she could, three massive dragon heads burst through the void, ripping new holes in the moon as they lunged for her throat.

She barely had time to react, hurling another moon in defense.

"Look out—"

Mordred leapt in front of Shirou, her sword blazing.

But before she could strike, a voice thundered from below: "Rhongomyniad!"

"What the—" Light erupted from beneath Ozymandias's feet, swallowing him and his attack whole.

"The Holy Lance?" Arthur stared in disbelief.

"That mana..." Gilgamesh turned toward the source.

Through the crumbling ground, a figure rose, gripping Rhongomyniad.

Fujimaru opened his mouth to speak, but Mordred beat him to it.

"Mom!" Her face lit up with joy.

"Mom! Mom! Mom!" Mordred crashed into Shirou's legs, latching on tight. "Mom!"

Shirou knelt down and ruffled her hair. "Mordred..."

Fujimaru watched, shaking his head. So much for her refusing his advice. Figures - even little girls could change their mind whenever it suited them.

As if reading his thoughts, Mordred shot him a death glare from Shirou's arms. The message was clear: Watch it.

"Shirou, are you okay?"

That voice... Fujimaru turned to see Tethys hovering nearby. His face broke into a grin. "Hey, Barbie!"

Tethys' joy vanished instantly. "How many times do I have to tell you - I'm not a Barbie doll!"

"Don't care - missed you, Barbie!" Fujimaru wrapped Tethys in a bear hug. Eight years together had worn away all their old barriers, leaving just friendship.

Ozymandias pulled himself up, his eyes locked on Shirou. "You're the one who attacked me? Then you'll die—"

The words were fierce, but he stayed rooted in place. Something about Shirou made him hesitate. The air around him reeked of death.

"I'm not interested in you," Shirou barely spared him a glance before turning to Gilgamesh. "He's all yours."

"Oh?" Gilgamesh's lips curled into a smile.

Without another word, Shirou ignored Sun King, turned around while holding Mordred, and walked toward Arcueid.

"How dare you..."

Shirou's casual dismissal made Ozymandias's blood boil. He was the King of Kings, Pharaoh Ramesses II himself. And since Manaka's corruption, his pride had only grown stronger. No one walked away from him like that.

But before he could move, Gilgamesh stepped in his path.

"Sorry," Gilgamesh said with a smirk. "Master's orders. You're not getting past me."

The two kings clashed, Ozymandias burning with rage while Gilgamesh just kept grinning.

Meanwhile, Misaya stood there blinking.

"Wait... aren't I supposed to be Archer's Master?"

The wind whipped around her as she tried to make sense of it all, feeling completely lost.

"Be good, hide behind him." Shirou set Mordred down, nodding toward Fujimaru.

"Yes, Mom." Mordred answered sweetly before running to Fujimaru's side.

Shirou stood up and walked toward Arcueid.

"'Yes, Mom.' What great acting~!" Fujimaru couldn't help taunting her. "What happened to 'I'll never take your suggestion?'"

Mordred's response was a hard kick and a glare. "Mind your own business!"