บท 421: C421
Fuyuki Church.
After dealing with all the intense scrutiny from the surface world, Caren Hortensia couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. When she became a priest at the Fuyuki Church, she figured it would be a rather laid-back job. But then that massive battle up on Mt. Enzou happened, and suddenly the whole city was in chaos. Not only did she have to deal with questions from the local big shots like the mayor of Fuyuki City, but she also had these higher-ups from all over the world poking their noses in.
Luckily, she managed to smooth things over by pinning the whole incident on the so-called Savior of Light.
Caren Hortensia thought she could finally relax and enjoy the country's fireworks festival after that whole mess. But who would have thought that out of nowhere, a bizarre and ginormous monster would show up on the surface of the sea again?
The mayor wasted no time in asking her about what's going on, and people were even throwing around the idea of getting the military involved.
Thankfully, those freaky creatures decided to make themselves scarce not long after. But the aftermath was quite messy, and she was stuck with the job of cleaning it all up.
"Ugh, seriously... What a pain. All I wanted was to find a spot to relax and maybe savor the sight of some crying children," Caren huffed.
She needed to update the Church on what happened in Fuyuki City, similar to how she had reported the giant battle on Mt. Enzou. She understood the importance of keeping the higher-ups informed about this latest issue as well.
However...
"Huh? Why can't I establish contact?" Caren Hortensia's brows furrowed as she stared at the stone in her hand, a look of genuine surprise on her face.
Even though the Holy Church usually had its hands full dealing with heretics and some unsavory magi, that didn't mean they refrained from using alchemical objects. After all, these items were steeped in generations of mystery, offering certain conveniences that even modern scientific creations couldn't match.
For instance, the stone in her hand was a communication device, allowing her to contact her superior and report the situation. It wasn't affected by electromagnetic waves or susceptible to information interception, making it even more secure and convenient than modern smartphones or other communication devices.
But right now, of all times, she couldn't get a connection with her superior.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Caren scratched her head, feeling like she'd just walked into something she didn't sign up for.
And then...
Outside the window, the night sky exploded into a kaleidoscope of wild, vivid colors.
With the stone still clutched in her hand, Caren Hortensia turned her gaze toward the window.
The sky was painted with strips of vivid lights, akin to the enchanting dance of the aurora borealis—a breathtaking display that held her captivated.
"So beautiful..." she whispered, her fingers tightening on the stone almost unconsciously.
And then, in the blink of an eye...
"Creak, creak, creak..."
The sky cracked open like a fragile mirror.
Out of the fractures in the bands of vivid light, a chaotic, black energy surged out, engulfing the scene in an unsettling darkness.
Thick, black, unidentified liquid trickled from the fractures in the sky, forming slow, mysterious droplets.
"What in the world is that?" Caren Hortensia's eyes widened in surprise.
And she wasn't alone.
In that very moment, people all across the Earth came to a standstill, their gazes united in wonder at the sky phenomenon happening above Fuyuki City.
"Creak, creak, creak..."
The shattered sky continued to splinter, breaking apart even more.
Dark, thick liquid seeped out gradually from the cracks.
In the next moment...
"Boom!"
The colorful bands of light shattered like mirrors, their fragments falling to the ground resembling broken glass, as if they were pieces of the very world itself coming apart.
The sky split apart, revealing one chaotic and distorted void after another.
With a distinct "clang," the stone slipped from Caren Hortensia's hand and thudded against the ground.
She stared at the unfolding scene in utter shock, a mix of colors and shapes that defied comprehension.
"What... what is this?" Her face twisted in astonishment, her mind unable to process what she was seeing.
As an accomplished priest of the Holy Church, she held deep knowledge of various mystical lores, but in this moment, her mind drew a blank.
The current situation was beyond her scope of understanding.
It was an anomaly that transcended her knowledge!
The black, unidentifiable liquid oozed from the contorted voids in the sky, mirroring the substance from the depths of the abyss.
With a splash, it descended in droplets.
Wherever these drops landed, buildings, vehicles, humans—all signs of civilization—disintegrated into nothingness.
It wasn't devastation, nor was it obliteration; it was an erasure of all traces.
Confusion filled Caren Hortensia's thoughts as she murmured to herself, a sentiment reflected in Shirou's heart as well.
Faced with this anomaly, his first thought was that it might be the same "Evil" that had tainted Astraea before. Yet, strangely, he couldn't detect any hint of malice or ill intent.
As he stared at the pitch-black, contorted void in the sky, his mind went utterly blank.
Then, out of nowhere, the Evil Flower suddenly stopped working!
His Evil Flower had inexplicably ceased its operation right in front of that twisted void in the sky. The rift in the sky continued its slow rotation, and thick drops of inky black liquid oozed out.
And as it dripped down, he experienced an entirely different sensation.
Absorption...
The malice that had permeated the land was now being absorbed.
Not only magical energy but even the malice within him—the malice of the "All the World's Evil" and the malice of the "Vampiric Evil"—they all churned as if on the verge of bursting out from his body, drawn away by an invisible force.
Shirou steadied himself, his brow furrowing. He turned to Angelica and asked, "What... is that?"
"I'm not sure," she shook her head, then calmly added, "But one thing's certain—it's too late now."
"Creak, creak, creak...!!!"
The void in the sky expanded, as if something trapped within were relentlessly pounding against the boundaries of heaven, trying to come out and manifest in the outside world.
"The vessel. My vessel!"
The chaotic voice echoed within his mind, growing increasingly distinct. Shirou's brow furrowed even deeper.
In that very moment, the Class Card of Ishtar abruptly twitched. A voice dripping with revulsion resonated, "It's here! Damn it, that repulsive thing is here!"
And right now...
"Splash, splash, splash...!"
Thick liquid gushed out from the tear in the sky, similar to some kind of industrial waste. He struggled to understand the nature of that thing. Its sheer existence caused his Evil Flower to cease its actions. However, he was certain that such a thing must never descend upon this land.
Otherwise, everything would be erased from existence, just like the building before.
He projected seven Caliburns and saturated them with his magical energy.
The radiant fusion of light, seemingly intent on banishing all shadows, surged towards the descending darkness.
However...
The brilliant blend of light met the dense darkness head-on, neither detonating nor igniting. In a heartbeat, it was swallowed by the torrent of darkness.
The light faded away.
At this moment, Artoria, Illya, and the rest also unleashed bursts of magical blast, directing them at the advancing wave of thick darkness.
Neither radiant light nor powerful streams of magical energy could penetrate this darkness. In fact, it seemed as if their energy was being devoured by the very darkness.
The darkness fed on light and grew more powerful.
"What in the world is this? It lacks malice, yet it absorbs malice..." Shirou tightly furrowed his brow. He then projected the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad.
"The lance that shines to the ends of the world—Rhongomyniad!"
Shirou shouted as he released the Holy Lance in his hand, its starlit brilliance converging into countless columns of light. They surged toward the onrushing tide of darkness.
However, they were still outmatched, forcefully subdued by the torrential darkness.
Gil did his best to open the gates of his treasury, taking out numerous treasures and using them as projectiles to continuously bombard the encroaching darkness.
In the distance, a resounding thunder echoed with divine power. The celestial force of the stars and the authority of lightning blended seamlessly, converging into a towering column of light. There was no doubt that Astraea was making her move!
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