269 C269

He had been deceived!

Betrayed by the very vessel he had trusted, the child he had cherished!

The sword he destroyed wasn't the feared Excalibur at all; it was merely an ordinary holy sword tainted with the essence of stars!

And now, the Sword of Promised Victory gleamed menacingly, ready to strike at Crimson Moon!

"Altrouge!" Crimson Moon bellowed, its visage contorting into a monstrous expression, fighting against even greater resistance.

Yet, its body had already suffered damage from the Tower of Light. Now, it found itself restrained by Merlin, Zelretch, and the combined effort of hundreds of magi, who created a powerful suppression field. Movement became an arduous task.

However, it pressed on. With tremendous might, it started to break free from the expansive suppression field, albeit slowly.

Regrettably, time was against it.

The Sword of Promised Victory had already been unleashed—

"EX-calibur!!" Artoria's voice rang out as she swung her sword.

Columns of starlight surged toward Crimson Moon.

"No—, no, no, no—!!!" Crimson Moon's scream filled with terror echoed through the air.

It was Excalibur, the very blade that had once brought devastation upon invaders. The planet's mightiest defensive weapon, capable of averting global destruction and repelling foreign foes.

Crimson Moon, the one who had initiated the "Moon Fall," undoubtedly stood as an invader, poised to bring about the Earth's demise.

Before this sword, just as the ancient invaders who laid waste to the Age of Gods twelve thousand years ago, Crimson Moon too would face annihilation.

This was the sword of salvation.

However—

"Wait, this can't be! Something's not right! Why is the power... why is it so weak?" Shirou exclaimed in astonishment.

A wave of astonishment washed over everyone.

Even Crimson Moon, amidst its grotesque screams, couldn't help but be taken aback.

The power of Excalibur proved to be disappointingly weak, lacking the expected might. It resembled nothing more than a typical, unleashed Excalibur.

Crimson Moon snapped back to reality, its eyes gleaming with a newfound intensity, and it commenced a frantic struggle.

With a gaze filled with murderous intent, it locked onto Zelretch and expelled a jet of blood, hurtling towards him with lightning speed.

However, rather than delivering a fatal blow, the jet of blood pierced through Zelretch's body and disappeared within.

"Ah—, ah, ah, ah—!!!" Zelretch's anguished scream filled the air as he clutched his forehead, tugged at his hair, and his teeth gradually sharpened.

Crimson Moon refrained from launching a direct assault on Zelretch. It knew that killing him swiftly was unlikely. Instead, it opted to transform Zelretch into a Dead Apostle, rendering him incapable of harnessing magical energy.

As anticipated, during Zelretch's transformation into a Dead Apostle, his control over magical energy waned, resulting in the dissipation of magical energy flow. Consequently, the moon began its descent.

With Zelretch's magical energy diminished, the formidable power of the large-scale suppression field significantly weakened, granting Crimson Moon the opportunity to break free from its constraints.

"Zelretch! Hang on!" Merlin shouted.

Gritting his teeth, Zelretch, consumed by madness, tapped into his Second Magic. Unrestrained and heedless of the repercussions in other realms, he feverishly extracted magical energy from parallel worlds, lifting the moon directly and subjecting Crimson Moon to renewed suppression control.

This isn't working!

What went wrong?

Cold sweat streamed down Shirou's face as he grappled with frustration.

His plan should have been flawless... It should have been...

His eyes shifted to the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad in his grasp, and a sudden realization dawned upon him, fueling his anger.

"Gaia, how could you fail to classify Crimson Moon as an invader!"

In a swift motion, Shirou established a connection with the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad, thereby reaching out to Gaia. Frustration pierced his voice as he shouted, "What in the world are you doing, Gaia!"

"My extinction by humanity is already a predetermined fact. In that case, it's better to annihilate it here and entrust the planet to Crimson Moon."

"What the hell are you sulking about, you damn bastard!?" Shirou cursed angrily.

"In every parallel world, there's no escaping my fate. I'm scared, genuinely scared. If death is the planet's destiny, then let it happen here."

"You damn bastard! Listen up, nobody else can hand you a way out, you have to create it yourself! If you're destined for destruction, if you continue living in fear, fine, I'll make you a promise. Only in this world, when you're on the verge of being destroyed, I will save you! your lament, the world's lament, I will take them away!""

"Who are you?"

"I am Guinevere, the Eternal King! So listen closely, classify it as an invader, you foolish bastard!" Shirou shouted.

"..."

Shirou disconnected from the connection.

And in that very moment, the corrections from Gaia came.

Not only that, but Alaya's correction also arrived.

Both Counter Forces descended upon Crimson Moon simultaneously.

Gaia was influenced by Shirou's words, while Alaya made the correction due to Crimson Moon's Moon Fall presenting a grave threat to human existence. As the Counter Force, it naturally had to intervene to guarantee human survival.

"No... Gaia... Gaia, you...!" Crimson Moon exclaimed in terror.

But that wasn't the end of it. As the planet labeled Crimson Moon as an intruder, the Sword of Promised Victory finally took on its true form.

The blade glimmered with a dazzling light, emanating an infinite cosmic brilliance directly from the Earth.

"Damn it..." Crimson Moon looked up at the sky, and then his body disappeared within the boundless light of Excalibur.

"We... made a promise. You... you must come and save me... Don't... don't deceive me..."

"Yeah! Guinevere will definitely come to save you!" Shirou declared.

Gaia was asking Guinevere, what did Fujimaru Shirou have to do with it?

The physical manifestation of Crimson Moon was obliterated. Perhaps it hadn't perished in the traditional sense, but without a corporeal form, it could no longer meddle in the present world.

The war had been won!

Shirou intended to capitalize on the situation and strike Attila, but he quickly realized that Attila had already retreated.

There was no denying that Attila, with her sharp intuition, had anticipated Shirou's plans and withdrawn her forces ahead of time.

She had even made a swift escape without hesitation.

Shirou had initially planned to chase after and eliminate her, but his forces were now worn out. Zelretch had transformed into a Dead Apostle, Arcueid suffered severe injuries, and she collapsed unconscious after removing the Armor of "Evil".

Even Merlin and the others wore expressions of exhaustion on their faces.

Shirou himself struggled to find the strength to continue pushing forward.

On top of that, there were other pressing matters to attend to, such as dealing with Altrouge and the numerous post-war tasks.

Unfortunately, he had no option but to abandon the pursuit and watch as Attila, a potential threat to the dynasty, slipped away before his eyes.

With a sigh, Shirou said, "This battle... we've emerged victorious!"

...

Get the latest chapters up to Chapter 625 on my Patreon: patreon.com/bcloud