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IBHJ Chapter 468
🕑 Added 2023-09-13 05:18:46 +0000 UTCThe collision between the two celestial bodies was not just a calamity; it also sounded the doomsday horn.
In South America, something extraordinary occurred. The Giant Spider, a dormant Dead Apostle Ancestor revered as a god by the locals, finally woke up. This entity didn't originate from Earth; it actually descended from Mercury alongside the Crimson Moon, marking it as an UO from Mercury itself.
Its enormous form, towering over forty meters high, let out a bone-chilling howl into the sky.
The influence of the Giant Spider began to expand, slowly encroaching upon South America. Its ultimate goal was to establish dominion over the entire continent, as it believed that the preordained time with the planet had finally come.
But that wasn't all.
From Jupiter to Venus, and over to Mars... throughout the solar system, other UOs hidden within their home planets were also stirring, awakening from their long slumber.
Elsewhere, on the moon, the main body of Attila, who had been trapped in a never-ending sleep, also woke up. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to stay put for now.
Inside the Temple of Time, the dragon's head let out a restless howl. Its massive arms, which had been attacking earlier, now pulled back to cluster around its enormous head.
Gilgamesh frowned, saying, "I didn't expect things to escalate to this point!"
While King Solomon looked as composed as ever, his fingers drumming on the armrest of his throne a bit faster than usual.
The situation was spiraling out of control!
What made things even worse was that, thanks to a mix of the Moon Fall and other gravitational forces, Crimson Moon's Moon Fall was overpowering Shirou's Moon Fall, pushing it downward.
But through all of this, Shirou's face stayed calm.
That's because he wasn't facing this alone.
Inside her lion-head helmet, Artoria's eyes were filled with cold, lethal determination. She fixed her gaze on the sky above, where Crimson Moon was floating ominously.
She raised her sword. In this critical moment, the planet had thrown its full support behind them. Any restraints on the holy sword had been lifted, and its true power had awakened.
Reflecting on her life, she realized it had been filled with nothing but failures. As a normal person, she had failed. As a knight, she had failed. As a king, she had failed. As a woman, she had failed. Even as a mother, she had failed...
It was one failure after another.
Throughout her entire life, she had faced an unending series of failures, and everything she had painstakingly worked for had been ruthlessly destroyed by the malice of others.
But not this time. This time, she was resolved not to fail.
"If you can feel the resolve in my heart, then answer me!"
Artoria channeled every last bit of her magical energy into the holy sword and activated it.
The sword glowed like a condensed galaxy, shimmering with the light of countless stars. Infused with the collective hope of the planet and its people, it shone brighter than anything had before.
With otherworldly power surging through her blade, she unleashed it towards Crimson Moon—the holy sword's most devastating and terrifying attack!
Crimson Moon clenched her teeth, one hand struggling to maintain the Moon Fall, the other gripping her demonic sword, fending off the blinding onslaught from the holy sword.
Though Arcueid was heartbroken, she willed herself to keep going, relentlessly fighting to regain control of her own body.
"Do you want to die? Remember, this is your body!" Crimson Moon yelled.
She shot back, "Exactly, it's my body. And I won't let you hurt my friends anymore!"
Her voice was filled with resolve and determination. Empowered by the Emperor of the Moon's authority, she was committed to taking back control of her own body. And thanks to her resistance, Crimson Moon's defenses crumbled under the combined assault of Shirou and Artoria!
Crimson Moon's demonic sword couldn't hold up against the full force of the holy sword's most powerful strike. With a deafening crash, the radiant white light overpowered the crimson glow and hit its mark.
Arcueid's resistance and Artoria's strike disrupted the Moon Fall, weakening its force. With the push from the Emperor of the Moon, both moons eventually crumbled into ruins. The falling fragments were swallowed by rifts just before they could hit the ground.
Shirou lowered his hand, his breaths heavy and labored. Using Moonfall had drained him more than he'd ever thought possible, more harrowing than he could have imagined.
The brilliant white light shot through Crimson Moon, continuing its trajectory until it vanished beyond Earth.
When the light was finally gone, what remained was a badly injured Crimson Moon. She looked rough, her face drained of color.
She had been defeated.
But...
"Don't think you've won!" Crimson Moon shot a cold glare at them. "I'm immortal. Even if you destroy this body, I'll be back one day!"
"No, you won't come back. This time, you've lost for good," came a voice in response.
And it wasn't Shirou or Artoria who spoke; it was Arcueid!
Crimson Moon had been severely weakened, while Arcueid, bolstered by the authority of the Emperor of the Moon, had regained control of her own body.
"What are you talking about?" Crimson Moon questioned.
Arcueid spoke with gravity, "I want to become the King of the Moon!"
"What?" Crimson Moon was stunned.
"The only way to make sure you never come back is for me to take up the mantle of King of the Moon."
"You're merely my sword! You think you can take my place?!" Crimson Moon spat out, visibly enraged.
"You can't keep the truth from me anymore. I've figured it out. I'm more than just your sword!"
During the time when Crimson Moon had possessed her, Arcueid had come to understand a lot—Crimson Moon's true nature, her own real identity, and the truth about the demonic sword.
Turns out, the demonic sword was none other than Arcueid, and she herself was a part of Crimson Moon!
The true Crimson Moon was the Moon's Ultimate One, and in her quest to come to Earth and establish her own dominion, she had divided herself into two parts.
One was Crimson Moon herself, the reigning King of the Moon, endowed with tremendous power as the Ultimate One. The other was the authority of the Moon, the essential key to taking control of Earth, and the seed that gave birth to the demonic sword.
In essence, she and Crimson Moon were two sides of the same coin!
So, she had every right to absorb Crimson Moon and ascend as the new Ultimate One of the Moon.
Therefore, the only real option for making Crimson Moon vanish—short of obliterating the Moon itself—was for Arcueid to ascend to the throne as the King of the Moon!
"You... Don't even think about it!" Crimson Moon exclaimed.
For the first time, genuine fear crept into her voice. Ultimate Ones are immortal; nothing on Earth could pose a threat to a UO. However, this was different.
Struggling to keep control of her damaged body, Arcueid looked down at Shirou and Artoria on the ground, tears spilling from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Shirou. I'm sorry, Artoria..."
"Arcueid!" Shirou's eyes met hers as she stood tall in the sky. He was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say to her.
Artoria slid her sword back into its sheath, her eyes meeting the tear-streaked face of Arcueid. She wore a complicated expression. "I... I've never truly hated you, Arcueid. I..."
She was conflicted, unable to decide how to feel or what to say. At this moment, she didn't know how to face her. She knew that the root cause of all their troubles was Crimson Moon. And while she was fully aware of that, her feelings were still conflicted.
Shirou looked at Arcueid and said seriously, "Come down. There has to be another way..."
"No," she shook her head, her voice tinged with sadness. "I have to leave Earth. I have to become the Moon King. If I don't, Crimson Moon will just use my body to do bad things again someday. I've made up my mind... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Tears poured from her eyes like a torrential rain as she turned away. Despite her injuries, she summoned every ounce of strength within her and soared toward the radiant full moon that hung in the night sky.
"Arcueid..."
Shirou's face was a mix of emotions, and deep down, he felt a crippling sense of helplessness.
He realized that when it came to what mattered the most, he was useless.
He couldn't even give a foolish woman a chance at a simple, happy life.
Eternal King? Emperor of the Moon? What did those titles even mean now? Absolutely nothing!
In the end, he'd lost his closest friend. All for nothing.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
😢
matthew owen
Such amazing character writing
