章 104: C104
Zepia Eltnam Oberon stood atop Mount Enzou, his eyes fixed on the gaping hole in the sky. He threw his head back and laughed, a wild, uncontrollable sound that echoed through the mountains.
As a prominent alchemist of the Clock Tower, Zepia had once loved humanity deeply. But as he failed time and time again to calculate a way to avoid their destruction, he had slowly gone mad. He had finally concluded that the only way to prevent humanity's demise was to achieve the Sixth Law. Unfortunately, the only way to do it was to make a perilous journey to the Root and back again
But the journey to the Root was treacherous, with both Gaia and Alaya using all their power to prevent magi from reaching it. Gaia would summon the monsters it created, while Alaya would directly summon Heroic Spirits from the Throne of Heroes to stop the magi.
Due to their true nature as genuine Heroic Spirits, they were of a higher caliber than the Servants who participated in the Holy Grail War. Their power was immense, so it was nearly impossible for a person to mess with the "Law" during their lifetime. Recognizing this, Zepia Eltnam Oberon made a fateful decision. He chose to become a Dead Apostle, voluntarily joining the ranks of the twenty-seven Ancestors.
The twenty-seven Ancestors were the origin of the non-human Dead Apostles, akin to vampires. The Church had managed to seal most of them, and some had already been destroyed due to their age. Nonetheless, the Ancestors still held their positions, as the Dead Apostles under their command inherited their ranks when they disappeared.
There was no hierarchy of strength among the twenty-seven Ancestors, as their power levels varied greatly. Most of them possessed power levels on par with that of an average Servant, while the top few were virtually unfathomable monsters.
Primate Murder was one such monster, known as the White Beast, the Monster of Gaia, and the true form of Fou in 'FGO'. Meanwhile, the fourth Ancestor was the Wizard Marshall Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, who dabbled in the Greater Holy Grail ritual system and was also a user of the Second Magic
After becoming a Dead Apostle, Zepia's obsession with the Sixth Law drove him to complete his Reality Marble, which could absorb people's anxiety and fear and make them manifest. He even used it in Wallachia, Romania, where he tapped into the people's fear of Vlad the Impaler to create terrifying vampire that slaughtered the city's entire population overnight. His atrocities earned him the infamous nickname "Night of Wallachia" from the Holy Church.
Despite his Reality Marble being overwhelmed by Shirou's Evil Flower, Zepia possessed strength that rivaled an average Servant.
However, his obsessive pursuit of the Sixth Law over many years caused him to forget his original intention to find a way to avoid the destruction of humanity. He became a madman, consumed by his pursuit of the Sixth Law, and would stop at nothing to achieve it.
In many ways, Zepia bore similarities to Matou Zouken, both consumed by their obsessions and willing to sacrifice anything to achieve their ends.
Initially, Britain was the ideal location for experimenting with the Sixth Law, as it was considered equivalent to the umbilical cord of the world. However, the Clock Tower's headquarters were situated there, and the Second Magic User was known to frequent the area. As a result, Zepia decided to give up on it.
A few months ago, he discovered that the Third Magic of the Einzbern Experiment had been achieved in Fuyuki City, but it had been used to reverse life and death by someone else. Although Zepia wasn't interested in the Third Magic, he was fascinated by the ritual system that had been used to achieve it. He only needs to borrow the ritual system of the Third Magic and use the lingering aura of the connected Law to create a hole in the space.
However, what truly left him feeling depressed was the realization that there was a being in Fuyuki City with the ability to absorb "evil", which greatly weakened the effectiveness of his Reality Marble. In order to avoid making any hasty decisions, he decided to employ some minor tactics.
For instance, he caused the manifestation of the Forest of Einnashe in Fuyuki City, interfered with the Holy Church's surveillance, and incited chaos. These strategic moves helped him lead the individual who could absorb "evil" away from his location, ultimately minimizing the threat to his plans.
Zepia saw an opportunity to unlock the seal of the Third Magic's ritual system. He decided to use the residual ritual energy of the Third Magic that had not yet dissipated to open the hole that would lead him toward the Sixth Law.
"Hahaha! The Sixth Law! The Sixth Law!" he exclaimed, looking at the expanding hole in the sky with a fanatical expression. This was his lifelong pursuit, and he could hardly contain his excitement.
Zepia took flight and rushed towards the hole, determined to reach the goal he had been pursuing.
However, there was someone who was faster than him!
...
The Void's gaping maw widened relentlessly, a black hole of destruction that seemed to swallow everything in its path. The swirling clouds above were drawn towards its insatiable hunger, sucked into its depths with a terrifying force. As the winds grew stronger and more violent, Miyama Town's buildings began to crumble and break apart, their shattered remnants hurled into the abyss above.
"What in the world is happening?" asked a terrified bystander.
"Is this... the end of the world?" another gasped in disbelief, staring at the horrific scene unfolding before their eyes.
Panic and terror gripped the people, their screams echoing through the air as they scattered in all directions.
"It's the end of the world!" someone cried out, their voice laced with desperation.
The sky had been ripped apart by a massive hole, its powerful suction threatening to swallow everything in its path.
Amid the chaos, a young girl's demeanor suddenly changed. Her once lively eyes became flat and dull, seeming to reflect the very essence of the Void itself.
Gazing up at the gaping maw in the sky, she whispered with an eerie calmness, "The Void has been opened. It will devour all existence."
As panic and chaos spread throughout the exorcist families, executors, and magi, the situation became even more dire.
The Root's hole had been opened, but not in a way that anyone had anticipated. This hole was an unseen force, an invisible manifestation that threatened to consume all tangible things and blur the boundaries between them, creating a state of primordial chaos and nothingness.
"How could this be happening?" people asked in shock, their voices laced with fear and despair. The situation had spiraled beyond control.
Amid the chaos, Shirou remained calm, his expression stoic as he gazed up at the hole in the sky over Miyama Town.
In the next moment, his body began to shift and contort, transforming into a towering giant made entirely of mud. He deftly manipulated the giant's massive hands, causing them to seize hold of the floating island that had been sundered in two, then lifted the construct high into the air and flew towards the gaping hole in the sky.
The Void would not close until it had devoured enough tangible things, and Shirou knew that he had to act quickly. He decided to use the floating island, which had been created by the Forest of Einnashe, to block the Void's insatiable hunger.
"You can't go there! You can't go there! You can't go there!" the forest cried out desperately. "Let me go! Let me go!"
The Forest of Einnashe was terrified at the thought of Shirou attempting such a dangerous feat, and its voice echoed in his mind, pleading with him not to go. Even the Forest sensed the impending danger and felt the fear that the Void represented, as the embodiment of all things that had been and would be erased from existence.
Shirou remained resolute and pushed the floating island towards the Void, his eyes fixed on the gaping maw in the sky.
The people on the ground looked up in awe and terror at the sight of the giant and the enormous island hurtling toward the Void,
A brilliant light flared up, bathing the area in radiance.
"No! You can't go there! Don't go!" Mrs. Fujimaru cried out in anguish as tears streamed down her face.
Arcueid Brunestud soared upwards, chasing after Shirou. "You're not going anywhere, Roa!"
"Let me go! Let me go!!!!"
The Forest of Einnashe's screams echoed through Shirou's mind, but his resolve did not falter. He possessed a formidable amount of magical energy. Though not as powerful as he was during the Fourth Holy Grail War, he was still a formidable force, equivalent to that of a Servant.
As the branches of the Forest of Einnashe lashed out at him, Shirou's strength proved superior. Though the Reality Marble of the forest was terrifying, it was no match for his Evil, which had the power to corrupt and erode even the most formidable of structures.
This was also the reason why Shirou was able to split the floating island in half so easily using his black mud.
The branches of the Forest of Einnashe loomed over him, but he summoned his mud giant, which quickly formed countless black hands to break the branches one by one.
"You're risking your life! You're the one who's going to die!" the forest shouted.
Shirou remained determined. "No, only you will die,"
"Why go this far? Why are you doing this? You're evil, and you're going to die!" the forest continued to protest.
"Because this is my home!" Shirou's voice rose with anger. "You bastards want to destroy my home!"
...
"No! No no no no no!" The Night of Walachia watched in horror as Shirou forced the Forest of Einnashe towards the void. His face turned pale as he screamed, "That's my Sixth Law! You can't destroy my sixth law!"
Zepia flew towards the void in a frenzy, but one of Shirou's black hands sent him flying. He spun like a meteor before crashing onto Mount Enzou.
Shirou pushed the floating island into the void, and the Forest of Einnashe screamed in terror as it was sucked in.
The void consumed the 52-acre forest, but soon reached its saturation point and began to slowly shrink.
As Shirou turned to leave, countless branches stretched out from the void and bound his feet.
"If you're wishing for my death, you can forget about staying alive!"
Shirou's mud giant used countless black hands to pull apart the vines that tangled around its massive frame. But the Forest of Einnashe was not one to go down without a fight. It frantically grew more branches, each one twisting and snaking around the mud giant's limbs, attempting to drag it deeper inside the forest.
Shirou, ever resourceful, managed to free himself from the mud giant's grasp and spread his wings, preparing to make a swift escape.
"Whoosh!"
But his plans were quickly dashed as numerous vines suddenly stretched out from the void, their tendrils lashing out like serpents to entangle Shirou's legs and drag him back inside.
"No! My child!" Mrs. Fujimaru cried out in grief, tears streaming down her face as she fainted.
"You can't escape, Roa!" Arcueid chased after him.
As the void slowly disappeared, it left behind a devastated Fuyuki City. There was no giant, no floating island, only the aftermath of destruction.
...
Trapped inside the void, Shirou retrieved his black mud and formed eight giant arms to cut through the vines that had entangled him.
He flew into the air, looking around at the strange world around him.
The colors in this world were twisted together, creating a highly distorted hue. It was as if all the boundaries of reality were mixed up here, and nothing existed. This was the essence of the void, an infinite and formless road that bound everything together.
"Don't even think about running, Roa!" Arcueid declared as she pursued him with a murderous intent.
Shirou glanced at her and sighed. "You're really a fool."
"What!?" she was taken aback by his comment.
"Take a moment to consider where you are before you talk about killing Roa,"
Arcueid turned her head and stood motionless for a moment, her delicate features contorted with shock. "That's strange," she muttered to herself. "Why is the World blocking me from extracting information? And why does it seem to think I've betrayed Her, showing hostility towards me?"
"The 'World' is showing you hostility?" Shirou echoed, his eyebrows arching in surprise.
This was simply impossible!
As the True Ancestor closest to Crimson Moon, Arcueid was a person selected by Gaia to become a substitute for the Earth's Ultimate One (UO), and when she fought, Gaia would support her.
It could be said that Gaia had placed Her own sense of touch on Arcueid. But now, Gaia was displaying hostility towards her?
"Yes," Arcueid looked bewildered. This was her first time experiencing something like this.
"Gaia is showing hostility towards you? That's impossible. The True Ancestors are Gaia's monsters and spirits on Gaia's side. How could Gaia show hostility towards you? Could it be because of this place?" Shirou thought out loud, but a flippant voice suddenly interrupted him.
"Who would have thought that at this point in time, there are still magi foolish enough to try to go to that place!"
As Shirou turned his head, his eyes narrowed in recognition. He saw a spearman wearing blue leather armor, with a red spear in hand and a flippant smile on his face. Shirou's throat went dry. If he wasn't mistaken, this was his senior brother, the legendary Celtic hero, Cu Chulainn!
Countless rays of light flashed around Cu Chulainn, and in the next moment, heroes both familiar and unfamiliar began to walk out of the light. Arjuna, Cleopatra, Gilgamesh, Georgios, Sasaki Kojirou... Karna, Heracles, Edmund Dantes, Elizabeth Bathory, Amakusa Shirou...
Shirou could hardly believe his eyes as he looked upon these great figures from various mythologies, all of them recorded in the Throne of Heroes as heroic spirits. They were protectors of humanity, and they surged like an army as they stood in front of Shirou.
But the appearance of the heroes was just the beginning.
"Boom boom boom!!!"
A massive beast's foot descended from the sky, its surface area far surpassing that of the floating island. With a deafening "boom," the foot crushed the floating island to pieces and turned the sea of trees into dust, killing everything in an instant. Next to it, a huge serpent appeared, its cold vertical pupils fixated on Shirou and Arcueid.
A storm of magical energy gathered in the sky, coalescing into a pitch-black dragon that glared fiercely at Shirou.
There was no mistaking it - these were monsters, the likes of which Shirou had never seen before.
And they were all on Gaia's side!
An army of heroic spirits and Gaia's monsters... Shirou's throat went dry at the thought.
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead and fell to the ground.
He knew exactly where he was - this was the path to the Root!
...
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