IBHJ Chapter 884

"Actually, this game is really simple. It's not much different from your typical RPG. First, you finish the tutorial to get used to the controls and stuff, then you find the village elder to start quests, get the proof you need to leave the newbie village... Huh!? Where's the village chief ?"

Morrigan, who was demonstrating with a new character while explaining to Artoria, suddenly froze.

Because...

The village chief was missing!

"You've got to be kidding me! The village chief is gone!"

Artoria asked, "What happens if the village chief is gone, sister?"

"What happens? It's a huge problem! If there's no chief, you can't accept newbie quests. If you can't accept newbie quests, you can't get proof to leave the village. Without proof to leave the village, your character is stuck in the newbie village forever!" she said helplessly.

"Then what should we do?" Artoria was worried. She remembered Ayaka saying that the account she lent to Altera was Lv.3, meaning Shirou and Altera disappeared outside the newbie village.

"There's no other option. I'll lend you Merlin's account," Morrigan said.

"Merlin's account?" Artoria's expression turned odd. "Is Merlin playing this game too?"

"Yes. And he's a total troll," she said, irritated, clearly having been on the receiving end of Merlin's pranks more than once.

"That guy hates it when others touch his account, but if it's you, even if Merlin complains, he'll definitely keep it to himself."

Saying this, Morrigan logged into Merlin's account using Artoria's Switch.

Artoria looked down.

[Name: My Daughter Is Super Cute

Race: Human

Class: Lv.9

Strength: A+

Endurance: B+

Agility: B+

Mana: B+ ...]

Before Artoria could see all of Merlin's stats, Morrigan let out a gasp.

"What's wrong, sister?" she quickly asked. Maybe her sister had found some clues about the king's disappearance?

Morrigan pointed to the chat bar on the right.

Artoria looked down.

[System: Player Evil Flower has appeared in the Dark City of Zaun, coordinates 1334.74, please all players go to snipe. Successfully killing player Evil Flower will have a high probability of dropping a unique item...]

Morrigan's eyes lit up, and she tugged on Artoria's sleeve. "Shirou, Shirou... Let me log in too. Let's play together, we'll finish the tutorial faster that way... And trust me, in this game, killing in the wild is the fastest way to understand the core mechanics."

Artoria: "..."

She sighed. No, sis, you just want the reward. Her sister was hopelessly addicted to the game. What was she going to do?

...

"Farewell, my friends."

On the desolate lunar surface, Arcueid gazed tearfully at the blue planet, Earth. It was so close, yet so far.

She knew the crisis Earth faced. Enemies from another dimension were trying to reshape human history, and Heroic Spirits, led by Eternal King, fought to resist them. But Arcueid, princess of the True Ancestors had no way to help them and had to leave her beloved Earth and friends behind.

Her true identity as Crimson Moon's Sword demanded it. Crimson Moon had used her body to cause great harm, and to prevent further suffering, she had defied him, heading alone to the moon. She wanted to replace Crimson Moon as the King of the Moon – a task only she could accomplish.

As Crimson Moon's strongest weapon, and its other half, Arcueid had the potential to become the moon's new ruler. If the moon was a body, Crimson Moon was the first personality, and she, the second. This gave Arcueid a chance to seize control. The weakened Crimson Moon had offered no resistance, mumbling only the cryptic words left behind by the Enlightened One. She had seized this opportunity to claim the moon's power for herself.

But it was not enough to completely suppress Crimson Moon, the moon's true ruler. Not to mention, if he suddenly regained his will to fight, the outcome would become uncertain.

To ensure Crimson Moon could never return to Earth and harm her friends, Arcueid had to fully suppress him. Following the memories flowing from Crimson Moon's side, she headed deep within the moon.

There, she found a massive photonic crystal—Mooncell, the super artificial intelligence computer that had driven Crimson Moon to abandon the moon for Earth. This quantum supercomputer had defeated the Velber's vanguard starship in the distant past and captured Altera, the Velber vanguard.

Arcueid knew that the only way to completely suppress Crimson Moon was to harness Mooncell's power, even if, as a price, she would fall into eternal sleep.

"Everyone... I will watch over you always."

With a final glance at the blue planet, she closed her eyes, prepared to fall into a lonely, everlasting sleep.

But something unexpected happened.

"This authority... this power..."

As she drifted towards eternal sleep, Arcueid was shocked to discover a second stellar authority, identical to Crimson Moon's, had appeared on the desolate moon. And this new authority was even stronger than both hers and Crimson Moon's!

What was this?

She opened her eyes, astonished to see her body, bound by Mooncell's virtual chains, glowing with faint golden light.

The golden clusters of light pulsed, drawing closer and merging like bubbles. They formed a girl, identical to Arcueid, except for her long, flowing golden hair.

Slowly, the girl opened her eyes. They were the same crimson red as Arcueid's, but calm and devoid of emotion.

"Crimson Moon...!" Arcueid snarled.

A girl emerging from her own body, wielding terrifying authority - this had to be another of Crimson Moon's tricks!

Damn it! Arcueid thought. Even if it costs me everything, I won't let Crimson Moon return to Earth and hurt my friends!

With a burst of strength, she shattered the chains binding her.

"Calm down, Arcueid. I haven't done anything."

A cold voice echoed in Arcueid's mind.

Without a doubt, this voice was...

Crimson Moon!

But he was nowhere to be seen. The girl who looked exactly like Arcueid was simply examining herself, looking down at her palms and pinching her own face. Her beautiful face remained calm, seemingly expressionless.

"Crimson Moon!" Arcueid's voice was sharp.

"Calm down, Arcueid," the cold voice replied. "I said, I haven't done anything."

"If you haven't done anything, then explain why another person just appeared from my body!" Arcueid insisted. "I know you've prepared another body, haven't you? Well, I won't let you succeed!"

"Hmph. You might as well try to stop the wind. I'm going to sleep now. And let me tell you, the moon has been destroyed by those alien invaders. To think you would want to inherit this garbage... I feel sorry for your stupid ass." With that, Crimson Moon fell silent, ignoring Arcueid's shouts as if he had vanished completely.

Turning her head to look at the golden-haired girl who was still examining her own body, Arcueid was full of confusion. If this wasn't Crimson Moon's doing, then how had another person emerged from her body?

Without thinking, she asked, "Who are you?" Arcueid preferred action to overthinking. If she was confused, the best course of action was to ask directly.

"Me?" The girl pointed to herself, then looked at Arcueid. "I am your mother."

Arcueid stared blankly for a full three seconds, before her jaw dropped in disbelief, and she became dumbfounded.

"Huh?" Arcueid replied dumbly.

"In human terms, I am your mother," the girl repeated.

"My mother? Are you crazy? I don't have parents," Arcueid scoffed, thinking this girl who emerged from her body was a lunatic.

"You were created by me, using Crimson Moon as a template. So in human terms, you are my child, and I am your mother."

"What are you talking about..."

Before Arcueid could finish, the girl pointed behind her. "I am that."

Arcueid turned around, but all she saw was empty space. The only thing of note was Earth...

Wait!

Could it be...?

"I am that planet. I don't have a name, but since you're using human understanding, you can call me Earth. Or Gaia."

G-Gaia...!

Arcueid stared in astonishment at the expressionless girl before her. Indeed, this authority, completely different from the moon's, confirmed she had nothing to do with Crimson Moon.

If she was Gaia, it made sense to call her mother, since Arcueid was originally created by Gaia using Crimson Moon's template. But...why was Earth's Counter Force appearing on the moon? And why had it emerged from her body? Arcueid was completely baffled.