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IBHJ Chapter 422
🕑 Added 2023-08-16 04:09:34 +0000 UTCIn 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!
The land itself seemed to shimmer as the light spread, and the sky above was a dense shroud of black mist, almost as if it were cleaving the world in two—dividing it into realms of heaven and earth.
Caught in this momentary standoff, Ishtar managed to wriggle free from Arcueid's grip, making a quick and desperate escape.
"Stop messing around and run away! If that thing catches up to you, death would be a better fate!" Ishtar fled in panic.
And at that moment...
"Creak, creak, creak..."
The sky suddenly shattered, giving way to another pitch-black chaotic void.
"Oh my God... What on earth is that?"
"I... Is this some kind of twisted nightmare?"
...
Shirou's lips twitched unconsciously. From the pitch-black void emerged a gigantic black arm that grabbed onto the merged column of light. It seemed to solidify the energy beams formed from countless lights into a physical entity. Then, with a slight force—
"Creak!"
The blended light shattered, and the dense darkness gushed downward.
His eyes contracted, and he stretched out his hand toward the Class Card, summoning the Eternal King through Install.
Given the insufficient time available to gather magical energy, the interface indicated his magical energy at a B+ level. Therefore, the manifested King appeared not in his full glory, but as a younger incarnation of Eternal King.
As Young Shirou materialized, his gaze instantly locked onto the gaping void in the sky and the enormous arm emerging from it. Without hesitation, he triggered his second Noble Phantasm—
[Unable to process, analysis blocked]
Blocked? he couldn't help but be stunned.
He had encountered this "blocked" phenomenon only within the context of his "Evil." It was an evil thought born from his black mud, protecting him from the all-seeing gaze of Clairvoyance. Back in the Age of Gods, even Gilgamesh didn't know that the Eternal King was the same person as Fujimaru Shirou.
And now, before his eyes, a sight similar to his black mud came into view. The colossal arm extending through the sky was blocking his Noble Phantasm!
But this wasn't the time to think about this. The encroaching darkness from the rift was almost reaching their place!
Glancing at his own reserve of magical energy, he clenched his jaw and projected an array of Noble Phantasms at his command.
Swords, spears, shields... Various Noble Phantasms took shape before him.
"Sword of Promised Victory, Excalibur—!"
"Golden Sword of the Victorious, Caliburn—!"
...
The holy swords soared, their brilliance carrying the light of stars and the radiance of the sun, enveloping the land.
Seeing this scene, Artoria and the others once again unleashed their Noble Phantasms.
Far in the distance, Astraea and Gil redoubled their efforts, holding back the boundless tide of darkness.
And in that moment, the massive arm swung again toward the gathered light.
"How could I allow you to do that again—!?"
Seeing this, he shouted while holding the Holy Lance.
Boundless light enshrouded the Holy Lance within his hand. In the next moment, the lance erupted with unending brilliance, akin to a towering pillar that pierced the heavens, standing tall on the ground, and connecting the sky.
The Tower of Light stood firmly on the land!
Limitless, dazzling starlight bathed everyone's faces, dispelling even the shroud of the night's darkness.
In that moment, it was as though the world had transformed into the kingdom of light.
"So that's... the Tower of Light His Majesty the Eternal King mentioned before?" Gray's eyes were drawn to the Tower of Light.
Shirou pressed his palm against the Tower's surface, his focus unwavering on the colossal arm. With a resounding shout, he commanded, "Attack—!"
The Tower of Light pulsed with an overwhelming light, an energy so powerful that it even caused the very fabric of space to tremble.
In the next moment—
A brilliant fusion of light and thunder crashed into the colossal arm.
"Boom, boom, boom—!!!"
The arm responded by extending its palm, trying to solidify the onslaught from the Tower of Light and attempting to crush the soaring pillar of light.
However, the magical blast from the Tower of Light proved itself to be far too powerful to be destroyed.
"Creak, creak, creak—"
First, the palm; then, cracks resembling delicate spiderwebs spread across the arm itself. The immense limb was ultimately engulfed by the radiance of the Tower of Light.
After the bombardment from the Tower shattered the arm, its residual energy refused to wane as it surged back into the very rift from which the arm had emerged.
"Boom! Boom!"
The distorted rift in the sky flickered with a kaleidoscope of colors before falling into an eerie stillness.
He couldn't help but release a pent-up breath, feeling a wave of relief washing over him.
Just then, Gil shouted, "Don't let your guard down—this isn't over!"
And once again, the sky split open.
"Creak, creak, creak—"
Two more chasms tore open the sky, and from these chaotic voids, two additional colossal arms emerged.
But that wasn't the end of it.
"Thud, thud, thud—!!!"
A distant yet insistent pounding echoed through the sky, as if an unseen force from another dimension relentlessly hammered against the boundaries of their world.
"Crack—!"
Once again, the sky tore asunder, giving birth to yet another colossal arm, shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
"What in the world is happening?"
His frown deepened as he stared at the three arms rending the sky open.
What in the world was this phenomenon?
Could this be connected to what Pandora's Box had brought over from Angelica's world?
Was this the catalyst that led to Astraea's tragic descent into corruption?
He had long braced himself to confront whatever Pandora's Box contained. He had even mentally prepared for a confrontation against the Greek gods who had created the box.
But was this really a calamity created by the Greek gods?
If it was indeed their doing... why couldn't he detect even a hint of divinity?
And why did it make his Evil Flower stop working?
"Wait... wait a minute! What is that thing trying to do?"
The onlookers were dumbfounded.
The three arms burst through the fractured sky, all stretching out toward the other rift from which darkness was spilling out.
Each arm grabbed onto a corner of the rift, and then they all pulled in different directions at the same time—
"Crack—crack—crack—"
A sound of destruction echoed through the sky, and cracks resembling a spider's web appeared around the rift. These cracks glowed with all sorts of colors, and every now and then, thick black liquid seeped out.
The onlookers watched in astonishment.
The sky wasn't a physical entity; it represented a concept, a domain that encompassed the sun, moon, and stars—the entire cosmos.
As such, the sky was both something visible and yet intangible.
However, these three arms were physically breaching the sky, tearing it apart, as if they were trying to release whatever had been imprisoned within the confines of the sky's boundaries.
Witnessing this astonishing sight, Shirou couldn't contain himself and yelled, "Stop it!"
He had no idea about the nature of these three arms, but one thing was obvious: whatever they were about to unleash was bound to be utterly terrifying.
They couldn't afford to let that ominous thing break free!
His shout jolted the group back to reality, prompting them to unleash their attacks.
At the same time, he harnessed the Tower of Light and his other Noble Phantasms to strike with all his might.
Gil, on the other hand, wielded a multitude of treasures, each brimming with magical energy for a barrage of assaults.
"Gil, don't use Ea!"
"I know!"
While Gil couldn't fully unleash the destructive force of Ea, the sword possessed the ability to tear open rifts. If that led to further damage to the sky, they might just end up falling into the clutches of this thing.
The colossal arms detected the movements of Young Shirou and his companions. All three arms stretched out to intercept the onslaught of attacks.
However, against the unrelenting power of the Tower's combined energy, the arms couldn't break through the assault. Instead, a deafening "boom" reverberated as the barrage pierced the arms.
From the fissure, black liquid oozed out, and a thick black mist cloaked the night sky, obscuring the stars and moon.
A void of utter darkness swallowed everything, with only the fractured sky's colorful glow and the piercing light of everyone's attacks managing to shine through.
But this colorful glow of the sky didn't offer any comfort or safety; instead, it gave them a profound sense of terror and dread.
It wasn't an ordinary spectrum of colors; it was more like the very lifeblood of the sky.
As if the sky itself had been ripped apart, and its blood was spilling out.
Comments
JeanMartin Freites
Now that last part really is some Erie imagery.
ZRain raion
Probably a Great old one though
ZRain raion
Definitely a eldritch deity
Duck
Eldritch deities possibly. The hands in particular remind me of Abigail (aka: the vessel of Yog Sothoth). She’s been shown to open literal and metaphorical ‘doors’ to the dreamlands which open to reveal energy beams, strange light, and 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬.
