IBHJ Chapter 873

"What? The price of death is... age regression? Every time you die, your intelligence and knowledge decrease by one year, until you become a baby and the system kicks you out of this Connection Point?"

Illya nodded vigorously, like a pecking chick.

Shirou glanced at Altera, who had already shrunk twice, and thought, Ah, that explains it.

But this Connection Point was truly bizarre. So far, all the enemies and Connection Points had been classic action anime tropes, focused on fighting and death. But this one? Not only had it turned the Connection Point into a game world, but it had also changed the price of death to reverse aging...

It reminded him of that book Arcueid had written. Even though it was a dark-themed story filled with death and curses, she refused to kill off any characters. It was like she had innovative and bold ideas for dark themes, but found death too cruel, so she forced a happy ending. Even the main villain Sakura and her lackey Ritsuka got off easy.

"So if I die, I'll get smaller again?" Altera looked at her hands and asked Illya.

Illya nodded. "Yes, you'll shrink again. I've died eleven times, so I've shrunk quite a bit."

He looked at Illya, thinking, I really can't tell. 

Just then, Illya's gaze sharpened, a puzzled look crossing her face. How strange, I feel like Artoria-neesan is thinking something mean about me.

Not to brag, but as she'd grown older, Illya had developed incredibly sharp intuition for these things. But after thinking carefully, she realized Artoria-neesan wasn't a cunning villain like Shirou-niisan, so she shouldn't be thinking ill of her like this.

Hmm. It must be my imagination, she concluded.

Shirou stuck the Holy Sword he was holding into the ground nearby. His expression turned serious as he looked at Illya and said, "Illya, tell me about Mordred."

"Mordred..."

At the mention of this, Illya's expression also turned serious and earnest. She then began to recount their experiences upon arriving at this connection point.

Like Shirou and Altera, after experiencing the triple-kill of falling from the sky, slimes, and the pigmen's "Village's Best Shield," Illya and Mordred had started their newbie quests. But unlike Illya, Mordred had chosen the Hell difficulty newbie quest and ended up trapped in an iron cage by the Gatekeeper, subjected to the hellish questioning that no one had ever passed.

As for why Mordred chose the Hell difficulty newbie quest, it was because, like Shirou, she'd relied on her own cleverness and the Grail to avoid the initial triple-kill. She'd also figured out that death meant respawning at the respawn point, and to top it off, she had the Grail's invincibility which caused her to greatly overestimated her abilities.

And so...

She failed spectacularly!

In simpler terms, it was like a protagonist from a serious, logical series stumbling into an illogical comedy and getting completely destroyed.

"So you're saying that kid bawling her eyes out in the cage is Mordred?" Shirou raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Illya nodded.

Artoria-neesan is Mordred's mother. If she learns about her child's situation, she'll surely be heartbroken and lose her mind, wanting to save Mordred, Illya thought. I have to stop her from doing anything rash.

Illya steeled herself, but when she looked up, she found "Artoria" smiling!

Actually smiling!

Illya was dumbfounded. Her own child was suffering, yet "Artoria," the mother, was smiling.

This, this was indeed...

Nothing is more heartless than royal family!

She looked somewhat fearfully at the smiling Shirou.

How could Shirou not smile?

Of course he had to.

That kid had finally shown her embarrassing side – her dark history. If this scene were recorded, Mordred would never be able to hold her head high in front of him again.

Originally, when she discovered his embarrassing book, "The Eternal King Can't Possibly Be a True Ancestor Girl," he had been quite worried. If that dark secret got out, she would definitely use it to tease him relentlessly, and he wouldn't have a good comeback. But now, things were different.

If he recorded this moment, she wouldn't be able to act smug in front of him anymore.

What a pity, Mordred. You finally found my embarrassing secret, but then I discovered yours.

Don't blame me, this is all the choice of Steins;Gate!

Hahaha!

Shirou was laughing.

Illya shivered.

How frightening, I never imagined Artoria-neesan had such a side!

Hiding his smile, he looked at Illya and Altera with a serious expression and said, "We must rescue Mordred!"

Altera nodded, her mind temporarily clouded by the honeymoon phase with Shirou.

"No," Illya shook her head. "Give up, Artoria-neesan. That Gatekeeper... she's invincible. I've tried several times, but every attempt ended in failure. We can't win."

"Don't give up so easily, Illya." Shirou's clear, bright eyes met hers as he spoke earnestly. "As long as we keep moving forward, the path will open up before us, eventually leading us to our destination."

"But if we're headed in the wrong direction, won't that just lead us to a dead end?"

As expected of someone well-read... He shook his head and looked at her with complete confidence. "No matter how absurd something seems, there's always a logic to it. Logic always exists, you just haven't seen it yet. Although the Gatekeeper is powerful, there must be a way to defeat her."

Seeing his unwavering confidence, she couldn't help but ask, "And that method is?"

He turned his head, looking gently at her, and asked, "Illya, why do you think invincible monsters like slimes appear in the newbie village?"

Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Artoria-neesan, you mean..."

"We must use invincibility to counter invincibility!" he said with a smile.

"Why is the Gatekeeper invincible? Why are the slimes in the newbie village so ridiculously strong? It's obviously a clue left by the game designers."

Games always have a balanced logic! And Shirou excelled at logical analysis.

"Oh, right! We should use invincibility to counter invincibility! How did I not think of that?"

Illya smacked her forehead. She had been stuck in a rut and hadn't considered using the slimes against the Gatekeeper.

She turned to him, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

She hadn't noticed before, but Artoria-neesan was so clever and reliable!

It was almost...

Almost as reliable as Shirou-niisan when he was serious!

Illya's perception of the King of Knights was completely flipped, unaware that she was brushing past the truth.

"But how do we use the slimes against the Gatekeeper?" Altera raised her hand and asked, puzzled. "Those slimes hit really hard, we can't tank their attacks."

Illya frowned, thinking it over. "That's true. If we try to lure it to the Andes Mountains to attack the Gatekeeper... with how fast that slime is, it'll catch up and kill us in no time."

"The answer is obvious," Shirou said, smiling and pointing at himself. "I'll form a blood contract with it, making it my familiar."

"Oh, right! That's an option too! As expected of Artoria-neesan!"

"Such impeccable reasoning, truly worthy of Artoria Pendragon, who defeated me."

Illya and Altera looked at him with admiration.

Shirou just smiled in response. He had already figured out the truth behind the Hell-level newbie quest.

The village chief, the pigmen base, the Gatekeeper, the slimes, and the blood contract...

All the elements connected, and after careful analysis, the answer was clear. This wasn't a Hell-level newbie quest at all, but a personal quest designed specifically for the [Vampire] race!

There was no doubt about it!

The three of them headed towards the invincible slime.

On the way, Altera took the opportunity while Illya was further away to shyly say to Shirou, "Artoria..."

"What is it?"

"You... you..." she fidgeted, then asked bashfully, "Could you look at me more often?"

He was completely bewildered. "????"

"I never noticed before... your eyes are so beautiful..." she said, covering her mouth shyly.

Gazing into his eyes, she felt they were so bright and radiant, like a warm, comforting flame. In them, she saw the gentleness she had always longed for but could never obtain.

Shirou: "..."

Looking at Altera, who was practically craving his gaze, he was suddenly reminded of his balding elementary school teacher for some reason.

What should I do?

He could only force a smile and brush it off with a laugh.

The three of them arrived at the slime's bouncing grounds, immediately spotting the ice-blue, jelly-like slime hopping around not far away.

"Let's get started!" he said with a serious expression.