IBHJ Chapter 879

"Destroy... ravage... destroy everything..."

Altera lost control, drawing the Sword of Mars and unleashing her magical energy without restraint.

Seeing her sudden transformation, Shirou's heart pounded, and he reached out to stop her. "Wait, Altera!"

"Ravage—Destroy—!"

Altera, her face twisted in a grimace of rage, swung the Sword of Mars downward. The blade, like a celestial hammer, struck the God's Brain.

Boom!!

The resulting energy storm lifted the surrounding earth three feet into the air.

Shirou shielded Mordred with his body, then covered them both with black mud. Illya, less fortunate, could only find a corner to cower in, hugging her head and trembling.

"Mommy..." Mordred whimpered, looking up at the King of Knights with wide, scared eyes.

"It's okay, Mordred," he murmured, stroking her hair. The little lion cub, now more like a frightened kitten, nodded silently. "Mm."

After comforting the regressed Mordred, Shirou sensed the energy storm subsiding. He cautiously parted the mud and peeked outside.

He saw that the God's Brain, despite the direct hit from the Sword of Mars, was completely unharmed. Altera, on the other hand, was covered in glowing patterns, still clutching the Sword of Mars, glaring at the undamaged brain with a contorted face, her eyes filled with the overwhelming desire to destroy. It was clear she was now fully consumed by the White Titan's destructive instincts.

But something wasn't right. White Titan was a weapon against civilizations, and only civilizations could trigger Altera's White Titan instincts, not individual objects. Yet, at this moment, it was undeniably the God's Brain that had awakened those instincts!

What was that thing?

Whose brain was it?

As Shirou pondered this, Altera suddenly stomped her foot and charged towards the God's Brain like a cheetah. She moved so fast, it was almost as if she had teleported, appearing before the God's Brain in the blink of an eye. The Sword of Mars in her hand rose high and swung down.

But she was too slow.

Zzzz!

The amber layer encasing the God's Brain glowed with a rainbow light, and then a rainbow-colored mana cannon fired at point-blank range.

It was Altera's own Sword of Mars!

The God's Brain had absorbed Altera's Sword of Mars, then flung it back at her!

Boom!

Even Altera couldn't withstand being counterattacked by her own weapon at such close range. However, her activated instincts and the power of the patterns greatly increased her resistance to the blast. She wasn't completely obliterated by the Sword of Mars, but with a resounding "boom," she was slammed into the mountain wall and buried by falling rocks.

The God's Brain wasn't about to let this cosmic invader who sought to destroy it get away so easily. Floating in mid-air, its outer amber layer once again emitted a blinding rainbow light, surging with magical energy powerful enough to warp the air around it.

"Wait!"

Shirou stepped forward, shielding Altera. Even though she had just gone berserk under the control of the White Titan, he couldn't simply stand by and watch the God's Brain destroy her.

The full extent of the God's Brain's capabilities was still unknown, but it seemed to be a terrifyingly powerful magical crystal, an alchemical creation. However, it was ultimately just an item in "Moon-Gazing Beauty." By exploiting the BUG with Evil Blossom, it might not be impossible to fight against it. Of course, the most crucial factor was that this thing was incredibly suspicious.

But perhaps because the system judged it as belonging to him since it was his quest reward, the God's Brain ceased its attack when Shirou stood in front of it.

In doing so, he also confirmed one thing.

There was definitely a will controlling this thing, a logic behind the brain's operation!

So, what could it be?

Game programming?

The code logic of a virtual AI?

Or...

The soul of the owner of this brain?

As he pondered, the slime that had been bouncing around hopped towards the brain specimen.

"Guda, guda~!"

It bounced up and down, its jelly-like body seeming incredibly light.

However, perhaps due to being captured by Evil Blossom for so long, the slime, hungry from not having eaten in a while, suddenly jumped, its entire body transforming into a predatory swamp that engulfed the God's Brain.

Then—

Zzzz!

It digested the God's Brain!

Shirou and the others watched as a complete brain disappeared, dissolved by the slime's gastric acid.

So... so scary...

Mordred instinctively clung tightly to Shirou's leg.

It's too scary. But, I can't show it, or Mommy will be very worried.

Thinking of this, she loosened her grip a little, but then quickly tightened it again.

It's still so scary!

QWQ

At that moment, the slime that had swallowed and digested the God's Brain was bouncing around happily again, "guda, guda," clearly excited after a satisfying meal.

Suddenly, its body jolted, and its jelly-like form melted from the inside, turning into a viscous blue liquid on the ground.

Then, as if pulled by some unseen force, the blue liquid gathered together, forming into the shape of a girl with flowing blue hair.

This shocking transformation made Shirou frown and take a closer look.

The girl appeared to be around sixteen years old, with sky-blue hair framing a delicate, pretty face. She wore a long, sky-blue dress, radiating an aura of azure tranquility and gentleness.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, revealing a pair of soft, azure orbs, like the warmth of a hot spring.

The girl turned her head slightly, those azure eyes meeting his gaze, and asked, "Excuse me, are you the hero who rescued me from that female demon?"

Clearly, this triggered a story quest.

In a normal RPG game, this would be the time to nod and agree.

But...

What's going on?

Why does it feel like just nodding and agreeing would lead to immense trouble?

Cold sweat ran down his face.

Perhaps because he had been using [Instinct] frequently lately, or because he was using Artoria's body, he could vaguely sense the truth of some things recently. For example, when entering the Shinjuku connection point earlier, he had smelled trouble brewing.

And now, facing this quest reward... he once again sensed the scent of trouble.

Moreover, this time the scent was stronger than ever before!

It was an immensely huge trouble.

So...

"You've got the wrong person, it wasn't me," Shirou flatly denied.

"Eh?"

The girl, expecting his affirmation, was stunned by his response. She tilted her head reflexively, her azure eyes full of confusion, "But the system told me I'm your pet."

I see, so it's a bound item?

I've really been set up.

Shirou raised an eyebrow, "The system must have malfunctioned."

This is bad!

To give such a ridiculous excuse!

Should this be attributed to Artoria's influence, or is it simply not taking this game world seriously?

He actually told such a ridiculous lie.

System malfunction?

This excuse probably wouldn't even work on the currently regressed Mordred.

However...

"The system malfunctioned? I understand. I'll report this to the system right away. I'm sorry for causing you trouble," the girl nodded, looking at him with clear, azure eyes, like a blank canvas.

Yes, those eyes were as clean and clear as a blank page. Perhaps this was just a newly born game AI.

Although this game world had real people like Merem Solomon acting as NPCs, a large-scale game needs many NPCs, and simply capturing real people wouldn't be enough. Therefore, some NPCs were virtual AIs.

And in his view, this girl was one such AI.

Boom!

At that moment, Altera, who had been smashed into the ruins, rose again. Her Titan instincts hadn't subsided, and she glared at the girl violently.

"Destroy... ravage...!"

With a low growl, Altera's eyes flashed with a dangerous light, her body glowing with patterns, as she charged towards the girl.