Before the energy orb erupted, seven gorgeous camellia petals, blocked in front of Shirou.
BOOM!
The earth let out a wail.
Rampaging magical energy swept the sky.
At the moment of impact with this enormous magical force, the first petal shattered.
Next, the second petal, third petal, fourth petal...
Until the final petal.
The magic circuits cried out for the first time.
It felt as though all nerves were being torn apart.
Projecting the Rho Aias shield with the current body was still too much?
'But, I can't fall!'
'Illya, Rin, Sakura.'
'They're all behind me.'
'If I fall, what will happen to them?'
The sky darkened and earth shattered. The world let out creaking, moaning sounds.
Was this the world? Clearly, it was the sign of the body breaking down.
The spiritual foundation began a self-destruction response.
The final petal began to shatter.
Continuously injecting magical energy, burning the spiritual foundation.
'If it's going to break anyway, why not squeeze out your last bit of value?'
'Come on, HOLD UP!!!'
Vision dimmed. Pain pressed against the body. The final petal, like glued-together fragments, was about to shatter into thousands upon thousands of shards.
'Please, don't break!'
Behind him, Illya was crying, Tohsaka Rin told him to hold on, Sakura hadn't given up either.
'But really, it's... not going to last...'
The spiritual foundation had almost completely burned away.
'No Avalon.'
'What should I do?'
"Shirou, what a nice name," It was as if someone gave him a push.
That familiar voice.
No mistake about it.
This person was:
"CASTER!", Shirou said aloud.
At that moment, his shattered body was continuously being restored.
BOOM!
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
A massive explosion resounded through the sky.
A mushroom cloud comparable to an atomic bomb rose above Ryuudou Temple.
Despair hung in the sky.
After the decisive explosion.
A curse was left on the ground, and Shirou staggered over to Illya, using his burned-black hand to stroke the girl's forehead one last time.
"Sorry, Illya. I can only accompany you this far," Then, he stood up and carried the three unconscious girls to a safe place.
Afterward, he looked up at that hole that covered the sky, mocking him.
Resolutely, he walked against the black mud toward the great cavity, while thinking clearly. His consciousness was still intact. When he reached the quiet place, he began forgetting things.
No, actually, his mind was just in chaos.
Like it was about to give birth to swords.
Probably not an illusion.
Using a broken body to activate Unlimited Blade Works, forcibly sustaining the shield, had made the magic circuits go berserk.
It was no different than giving himself a neural breakdown.
The only reason he was still able to function was thanks to Ca—
'Who?'
He just couldn't remember now.
Memory faded fast, only one thought remained in his mind.
To save Illya.
So he kept moving forward.
Struggling through the cursed sea of mud, moving forward shamelessly.
At this point, who would care about such things?
No one could see anyway, right?
So...
"To think you really got here."
'Such a pleasant voice, who is it?'
"Is this the final gasp of a spent force?", The blonde girl before him tilted her head, smiling slightly.
"Seems Berserker isn't truly invincible after all."
"No, being able to still walk like this, now that's the scariest, isn't it?"
The girl followed behind him, with an indifferent tone, "Hey, Berserker, not giving up? With your spiritual foundation completely destroyed, even if you reach the Holy Grail, it's useless, right?"
"Get lost. Don't bother me!"
That irritable tone might not match her impression, so the girl paused for a few seconds, then clasped her hands behind her back and ran forward, completely blocking his path.
That soft smile bloomed like a pure white flower.
This woman was truly beautiful.
"You and Saber are the same… I just don't understand you."
She said this, "If you find me annoying, why not kill me? Why drive me away? Weren't you the one so determined to kill me?"
'Who, me?'
Rudely pushing her to the ground, he kept moving forward.
'I have no time to care about her.'
'I still have to...'
'Do… something… make someone… happy!'
"See? Now you can't even remember what you were trying to do," Manaka got up like nothing happened and continued following behind him.
This time, she was very quiet. With her bright eyes, she gazed at the boy from close by.
After a while, she said, "Berserker, warrior of madness, turns out, we really were too far apart. So far that I can't find you, and you can never belong to me."
'What is this girl saying again?'
'So strange.'
Confused, Shirou stopped walking.
Because he had arrived in front of the Holy Grail.
'But… what to do next?'
He was lost.
He was afraid.
It felt like if he didn't remember quickly, something that would break him would happen.
'Gotta remember...'
"Don't cry, Berserker."
That soft tone.
And her uniquely gentle style.
The blonde girl held his hand.
"As long as your abilities aren't forgotten, it's not too late."
'Not too late for what?'
"Just listen to me, and do it from your heart."
"Come," She gently, like she was afraid of hurting him, said softly, "Projection."
"Projection, start," Just by reflex, he said those words.
Activating the magic circuit made him want to scream from pain.
But he forced himself to endure.
'Don't want… to lose face in front of a girl.'
The girl was stunned for a second, then couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Then gently consoled, "Don't give up, Berserker. The next step is very important. You must not mess it up."
"Think of Caster's Noble Phantasm."
Forgot who Caster was, but instinctively, he had already projected the Noble Phantasm.
"Very good," The girl praised, guiding his hand to her chest.
The specially-shaped blade pierced flesh.
The contract formed, and Angra Mainyu, bound by it, dissolved into nothingness.
After completing the basic steps, Manaka took out a very special belt.
She chuckled, "If it were just me, I really wouldn't be able to complete Cup of Heaven."
No matter how strong she was, in the end she was still a modern magus.
Under limited conditions, she couldn't achieve impossible magic.
But Medea was different.
When she transformed the belt into a Lesser Grail to connect with the Greater Grail, she sensed that the Greater Grail had been corrupted.
She had already prepared to purify it.
The only missing condition, was an artifact with the effect of Dress of Heaven.
This part, just happened to be what Shirou could provide.
He only needed to project it.
With the Holy Grail, she could briefly realize this kind of conceptual manifestation.
"Come on, Berserker. You must not mess up," She reminded, "What Caster left behind, the final piece, must be completed by you."
The girl smiled innocently and brilliantly, carrying her blessing.
Shirou no longer had the heart to admire her.
Projection and instinct began to analyze.
Identifying the concept of creation, confirming the foundational framework, completing the replication.
But it wasn't enough, the item was flawed.
It had to be supplemented.
So he had to recall.
'Think, remember.'
'I have to remember that experience, learned in some workshop—'
Begin mimicking, synchronize resonance!
"Projection, start!"
'It worked!'
It was a special crystal card.
A crystal card for inserting into the belt.
When Manaka saw it, she paused, then understood, "I see, so Caster had already completed it to this point."
That meant, even without her, the boy could still reach his goal in the end.
So, Manaka slowly stepped back.
She gave the stage to the boy.
This would be the final time for armor fusion.
There was no stirring, hot-blooded combination sound effect.
There was only a quickly fading boy, slowly walking into the core of the Greater Grail.
Thus, Cup of Heaven, completed!
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