BCloud

IBHJ 1074

Manaka's reaction was fast, her brutal survival instinct overriding any hesitation. She projected a black hand, shaping it into a sharp blade, and in one savage motion, sliced through her own arm just above where the tentacle had entered. Her severed limb dropped to the ground with a wet thud, dark blood spattering across the concrete as she clutched the stump with her remaining hand.

Her face was pale. She looked at the tentacle-infested control room and forced a smile. "You smelled my...

IBHJ 1073

Until she had gathered all seven Beasts, Manaka wanted to avoid provoking those old solar system rogues who were quick to unite at the slightest hint of injustice. Arcueid's willingness to surrender the core was the ideal outcome.

As Manaka rushed towards the core, she suddenly stopped, a look of uncertainty crossing her face. She turned towards the starship, as if sensing something amiss.

A black blur flashed past – too fast to see. Even Shirou, in his Eternal Emperor state, on...

IBHJ 1072

"Oww..." Kiara covered her head and retreated.

Mordred looked up at the moon with a scowl on her face. That battlefield was beyond the limits of even Heroic Spirits. Even gods couldn't approach it.

If something happened to the old man...

She gripped the Grail tightly, unconsciously channeling mana into it. Suddenly, a warm hand covered hers. She looked up and met Artoria's blue eyes.

"Trust your father, Mordred," Artoria said softly.

Mordred pulled her h...

IBHJ 1071

Koyanskaya smiled. "Master, after everything we've been through, there's no need for such formality. We have a contract, after all." she added, her eyes gleaming, "Besides... when the universe itself is trying to kill you, survival becomes a compelling motivation."

"You're really different from other Beasts," Ayaka said.

"Oh? That's a dangerous assumption, Master." Koyanskaya chuckled. "Tiamat, Demonic Bodhisattva... we're all cut from the same cloth. I just wear it with more styl...

IBHJ 1070

"Uranus..."

The dragon loomed over the wreckage of the starship, its presence making everyone freeze in place.

"It's too early." Manaka's shoulders tensed as she looked up at the massive creature. Her calculations had shown she'd have more time—enough to complete her mission and leave the connection point safely. Now that plan was falling apart.

"Grrrooooaaarrrr!!"

The dragon's roar shook the ground. Its rage poured out like a physical force, creating a windstorm tha...

IBHJ 1069

Velber's AI smiled at the thought. When Umbral Star arrived, everything would be consumed: Beasts, UOs, the Council, Chaldea, Grand Servants, Manaka, even Eternal Emperor. All would become fuel for Umbral Star, transformed into its new vanguard.

Shirou watched the AI's starship race toward Velber's main body. "Don't even think about it!" he shouted, his body surging with sacred light. He shot forward like a comet, determined to stop the AI from reaching his destination and signaling Umb...

IBHJ 1068

"Let me be honest with you," Manaka began, "Except for you arriving at the Moon a few steps ahead of schedule, everything else was within my calculations, including Uranus's actions. After all, I was the one who used that Gandhara girl as a sacrifice to manifest Uranus."

She then sneered at him, "A mortal is still just a mortal, no matter what grand titles you give them - 'hero,' 'king,' 'emperor.' Against a true god, you're nothing but dust."

Her gaze swept from him to Arcueid, w...

IBHJ 1067

"How else would you come out?" Ayaka laughed. No wonder Fujimaru likes to trick people, she thought. It really does work.

"You—you—you—" Altera sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence. She angrily shook Ayaka's hand away and turned to leave.

Suddenly, the laughter died in Ayaka's throat as real pain knifed through her chest, and she crumpled. "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much..." She moaned.

"Nice try," Altera scoffed, turning away with...

IBHJ 1066

"Altera!" Her voice rang out into the emptiness, but no answer came.

She looked everywhere, her eyes searching through the endless white nothing around her. But there wasn't a single thing to see - just blank whiteness stretching on forever.

"Altera, where are you?" Her voice grew smaller, weaker, as hope slipped away with each moment of silence.

The truth settled heavily on her shoulders. Her sister Manaka's words came back to her, sharp and clear: no matter how well you hi...

IBHJ 1065

Arcueid floated in mid-air, using the core and her authority to stabilize the moon. But it was a struggle. Neither Eternal Emperor nor Manaka were ordinary beings; the shock waves from their clash alone were almost too much to bear.

She now understood why her siblings were so wary of the Lord of Salvation. If Manaka and Eternal Emperor were this powerful, how terrifying must the Lord of Salvation truly be?

White Titan watched Shirou and Manaka battle. Even as a Velber, she sensed ...

IBHJ 1064

"Archimedes?" Shirou frowned. He shook his head. "No, that's Velber's main body!"

Shirou realized the truth. This wasn't the fragment Archimedes piloted. This was the source, the original vessel shot down by the UOs millennia ago—Velber 02!

He remembered the history. Fourteen thousand years in the past, before being imprisoned by Moon Cell, Velber 02 had projected an avatar to Earth using fragments of itself. That avatar became the White Titan, and one of those fragments was the...

IBHJ 1063

Just as he spoke, a deafening explosion roared from outside, shaking the entire chamber violently.

"Shirou, there's a powerful energy surge outside. Heaven's Corpse and Venus are fighting!" Arcueid shouted over the rumbling.

He nodded, but his eyes remained fixed on Manaka. He didn't dare let his guard down. This woman was the root of all their problems, the architect of their suffering. She was always one step ahead, always in control. She was terrifyingly dangerous.

"Don't...

IBHJ 1062

Ayaka, even more bewildered, could only stare. "????"

What in the world was going on?

Fortunately, even though Altera was just a fragment of the White Titan, she still recognized Ayaka. With Ayaka mediating, the White Titan finally calmed down, releasing her grip on the giant's legs and getting off Shirou.

"Mr. Shirou, honestly, how could you tease Altera like that?" Ayaka put her hands on her hips, frowning at him.

Shirou nodded. "I know. I was wrong." He felt a pang ...

IBHJ 1061

"Lady Sephyr, we mean you no harm! This is all a misunderstanding!"

White Titan's expression remained severe as she looked at the unarmed Shirou. "A misunderstanding?"

Arcueid's attack had angered her, even though it hadn't caused any real damage. Being attacked like that would make anyone angry, even someone as patient as she was. Still, she was willing to hear them out. She simply didn't want to hurt anyone if she could avoid it.

She could easily break free from this chamb...

IBHJ 1060

The chamber holding the White Titan had been exiled to the deepest recesses of the Moon Cell system. Bound by multiple restraints, it drifted in isolation. Reaching it without the Moon Cell's command was nearly impossible.

But Arcueid now controlled the Moon Cell's core. Though she couldn't fully utilize its power, she could manipulate some of its systems, including transferring them all to the exiled chamber.

She pointed towards a distant structure. "That's where Altera is impris...

IBHJ 1059

"Think you could take us there?"

"Of course!" she beamed at him like he'd just suggested a fun outing. "Just give me a sec to check!"

"Thanks, Arcueid."

Her expression shifted to genuine confusion. "Why are you thanking me? That's what friends are for, right?"

Watching her puzzled face, he was reminded again of how Arcueid approached friendship – to her, refusing a request from a friend was almost unthinkable.

"Oh right..." she suddenly paused, glancing around ...

IBHJ 1058

The UOs had moved Mooncell to this location because of the wager. With White Titan Altera's true form present on Mooncell, Archimedes was bound to appear.

"Graaauuugh! Graaauuugh! Graaauuugh!"

Saturn's monsters roared, their cries echoing as they charged towards Velber 02. These creatures were programmed to destroy anything that approached the moon. This included Shirou's group who had slipped in through Pluto's gate, let alone Archimedes who had entered so brazenly. It would be a...

IBHJ 1057

This was Connection Point. This was incomplete timeline. It was so similar to reality, yet fundamentally different.

"Look—!" Ayaka suddenly exclaimed, pointing towards the moon.

He followed her gaze and saw the moon's surface swarming with countless asteroids, like an asteroid belt.

"Those are Saturn's minions," Heaven's Corpse explained. "If you tried to fly directly to the moon from Earth, you'd have to fight your way through those monsters."

"Are they strong?" he ...

IBHJ 1056

After leaving the maddened Archbishop with Enos, Shirou led everyone back to Sanctuary. He spent the next few hours making careful preparations, then set off with Heaven's Corpse, Ayaka, and Daji towards Pluto's gate.

Mordred and Artoria had been ready to join them, but the potential dangers of this battle were too great. For their safety, Shirou had insisted they stay behind. He hadn't even brought Kiara, despite her possessing half-Beast power.

He ruffled Mordred's hair, a warm ...

IBHJ 1055

Heaven's Corpse's face paled. She took a step back. "It's UO's countdown."

"UO's countdown?"

She nodded grimly. "The wager between Gaia and UO has a five-year time limit. If Ort's fragments are gathered and Gaia is revived within five years, the UOs lose... But the most crucial fragment is still missing, and God's Brain has fallen into their hands, becoming the core of Uranus' dragon..." She ran a hand through her hair. "We have about five days left. Once that hourglass runs out,...

IBHJ 1054

"For our own sake, why not?" Archbishop Moirae glared at her. "You and your followers are hypocrites. You use false pretenses to cover up the true nature of life. You use fake benevolence to restrict people's thoughts, and that is why people have become so weak."

He continued, his voice rising with every word. "Remember the trial to become a priest? Facing those magical beasts, only one in a hundred survived. That is how I know the truth—the world is a dark and brutal place where the ...