Chapter 385: The Pathetic Man-Demon Amakusa
"So, it was you all along. The sorcerer who summoned the Heroic Spirit Sabers and brought this world to the brink of destruction! Amakusa Shirou Tokisada! You intended to use this demon castle to destroy everything, causing harm that spread across the world. No wonder Alaya sent personnel to handle more than just the Orochi; it was because of your involvement after all." When Shirou saw the man's appearance, he understood exactly what was going on.
Because of the appearance of the Great Serpent, the Counter Force had sent Illya, the fusion of a goddess, to seal it, while his own mission was to resolve the situation with this man who had fallen into the path of evil.
The white-haired man opposite him opened his demon-corrupted eyes—the sclera were black, and the irises were a wicked red. He might have once been human, but he was undoubtedly an evil spirit now. When a person extinguishes their humanity, this is perhaps what they become.
"Hmph, I originally intended to let you fight the Great Serpent to the death, to stall that monster. I didn't expect you to come knocking on my door yourself. Hmph, if you had just stayed honestly huddled in your village, I could have left you alone..." The sorcerer's expression was filled with contempt, and he mocked Shirou: "...I never expected you to deliver yourself here to die."
"You talk of killing and death with every breath," Shirou said, looking at the white-haired man. "You are completely different from the one in Chaldea. You are truly pitiful—a resentful spirit living like a human, a human whose heart has died like a resentful spirit. That is why you have fallen into this state. A demonic force that exists only to seek revenge, trying every means to erode the world—you are truly indistinguishable from Ashiya Dōman. It makes one curious: what kind of guy is this 'Satan' you all revere?"
"Hmph! Lord Satan is the existence who helps me slaughter the Tokugawa clan, purge them completely from human history, and create an ideal world for us. How could he allow a peeper sent by the Counter Force like you? And don't you dare compare me to that guy who, despite experiencing all those things, could still heartlessly enter the Throne of Heroes!"
Shirou looked at the man with pity. "Is that so? But in my eyes, you are the fake one. Because you bear resentment toward the world, you only think of retaliation through slaughter, turning people into monsters, and wantonly trampling upon and playing with others' lives. Because you hate your own fate, you trample upon the fates of others. You are doing exactly the same foolish things that the Tokugawa army did during the Shimabara Rebellion. This is not what a leader who wishes to protect his followers would do."
Hearing Shirou's words, the sorcerer Amakusa Shirou widened his eyes in fury, his red pupils seeming to catch fire, and he roared: "Do you even know what you are saying, you bastard! Absurd! How absurd! Where exactly am I wrong! I want revenge!"
"It seems saying anything more is a waste of time," Shirou clenched his fists and said coldly.
"Ho-oh? And what do you intend to do?" Amakusa Shirou asked, smiling with his demonized eyes.
"I just need to cut it all down—both you and your demon castle," Shirou said coldly.
"Heh-hahaha! What do you think you can do on your own?" Amakusa Shirou laughed wildly.
Shirou said coldly: "This is the world where O-Nui and Tasuke are to live. I will never allow anyone to destroy this place!"
Shirou directly projected Kanshō and Bakuya. With a quick sweep, the lonely arcs of black and white light slashed against the sorcerer Amakusa Shirou.
The sorcerer did not dodge, letting Shirou's dual blades strike his body. Two wounds were carved into the sorcerer's chest, but they healed immediately, and his spirit raiment returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened at all.
"Hm!" Shirou looked at Amakusa Shirou in surprise and struck again.
But it still had no effect. Shirou had reinforced his weapons; they should have been effective even against a Heroic Spirit Saber with a mutated Saint Graph, but they had no impact on the sorcerer now. No, the opponent was injured, but the rate of regeneration was too fast. A wound of this degree meant nothing. As Amakusa Shirou Tokisada stood now, perhaps even taking a Noble Phantasm hit head-on wouldn't be enough to destroy him.
"Useless, useless, useless!!! Heh-hahaha! As long as I am within this demon castle, my vitality is greater than that of all the Heroic Spirit Sabers!"
At that very moment, a purple figure pierced through the void and rushed in!
"BB-Channel!!! Hearing the call of your heart, the cute, cute, super-cute BB-chan has arrived~!" The purple-haired girl in a nurse's outfit made a sideways V-sign in front of her face and cried out playfully.
"You're slow!" Shirou complained. He had contacted this girl long ago, yet she waited until now to show up.
"Eh~! After all, BB-chan isn't the protagonist this time. To avoid stealing the spotlight, BB-chan endured, but as a god-tier supporting teammate, I've arrived at this tense, final moment."
"You were just hiding on the sidelines, peeking and waiting for the right time to appear!" Shirou retorted irritably.
The sorcerer laughed in a hideous, wild manner: "Another inexplicable Servant? It doesn't matter; you're all small fry and useless! Heh-hahahaha! This body is no longer human, so what if you are Heroic Spirits! No one can stop my revenge! The grudge of my 30,000 compatriots who were slaughtered—today, I will make this world pay it back!!"
"Such a way to talk. BB-chan is the most popular streamer on the Moon; I feel like a protagonist of destiny. Customer, I see your eyes are red, your skin is black, and you're spouting nonsense the moment you open your mouth—you're definitely sick! Oh my, oh my, this is bad! You probably have a mental breakdown! We must treat it~! But please rest assured, leave everything to Nurse-san! Anyone who is sick just needs an injection!" Saying this, BB took out a giant syringe that required both arms to hold steady and aimed it at the sorcerer Amakusa Shirou.
White light flashed from Shirou's eyes as he unleashed the power of the gods, striking at Amakusa Shirou. Even with the massive vitality provided by the Heroic Spirit Saber ritual, it caused significant damage.
Under their combined assault, the sorcerer, seeing he was at a disadvantage, widened his blood-red eyes and unleashed his Noble Phantasm, roaring:
"You are still too late! Open your eyes and behold... the land of my lament, the place of my angry mourning—Shimabara Hell Scroll!!"
The surroundings darkened, and the world was covered in red. Looking out from the Tenshukaku, as far as the eye could see for a hundred ri, everything was engulfed in flames.
The forests on the mountains and the houses on the plains were all burning. Red flames shot into the sky, the clouds were smoked red by the billowing black smoke—everything was like hell. No... this was hell.
Everything here was filled with death, gloom, and resentment. Even the air was toxic; breathing it into one's body felt like one's lungs were burning.
"This is a Reality Marble! Fuyuki City... no, this is the scene that occurred in the world the sorcerer originally came from..." Shirou watched the changes in the space around them. Because he possessed something similar, he understood.
Everything here had been burned. Flames rose on the mountains, but those streaks of red like magma between the grass—besides fire, they were human blood...
"As long as one steps in here, no living soul is permitted to exist. Unless all the sinners related to the Tokugawa in every parallel world are obliterated, this barrier will never disappear, and there will never be an exit. Accept the torment! Repent in pain! But I will not forgive anyone! All of humanity shall welcome the end of the world!"
"Even if I didn't catch the Tokugawa-blooded Princess Matsudaira, this blood is enough. Even if it's not as effective as a living sacrifice, it's just a matter of time. No matter how long it takes, I will hunt them down! I will kill everyone alive when the Tokugawa existed—slaughter them all! Hahahahahaha!!!"
The demon castle was fully activated. Its rooted tentacles began to spread toward the towns surrounding Tochi Castle, covering everything they touched with thick, ominous black energy.
"Heh-heh-hahaha! My drifting through infinite worlds has finally paid off! The 'Detest the Defiled World' demon castle is complete! No one can stop me anymore! No one!!!"
At this moment, the demon castle outside was complete! The massive dark castle, with its black thorny tentacles dancing, appeared as if it had come alive. It was on the verge of turning the entire world into the scene within the Reality Marble.
"The demon castle is finished... I talked too much, sorcerer... Since that is the case..." Shirou placed his hand on the hilt of the divine artifact he had forged, his fingers gently stroking the blade. This was the only way Shirou could forge a Noble Phantasm of divine artifact level without borrowing the power of gods.
"Although I could choose to use a Reality Marble to deplete this Reality Marble, since the demon castle is complete, there is no more time to dally. I have to unsheathe my blade, BB! I will resolve all the fighting here, but if there are any issues after this, I leave it to you." Shirou looked at the girl.
"Eh eh? We just met, and now we're breaking up! Wait! Senpai, what exactly are you going to do?" the purple-haired girl asked in confusion.
"Hold on! Kid!" A deep and thunderous voice echoed in his heart. A woman with golden vertical pupils appeared, calling out to stop Shirou, saying in a low voice:
"Kid! Don't be in such a hurry to draw that blade! If you do something reckless and summon that white fellow, I'll be troubled too. Leave this demon castle and the barrier to me!"
Shirou stopped his hand and looked at the newcomer, whispering: "Kiyohime's servant... no, Orochi."
"Eh? What's going on?" BB looked at Shirou on one side, then at the slender, fragile-looking girl whose golden vertical pupils were filled with majesty.
Previously, when Shirou, Musashi, and Gudako had split into two groups—with Musashi entering the black-mist-covered Tochi Castle first while he went to save the people in the town—he had encountered the Orochi, who had also arrived with her own team, and had struck a deal with her.
At the time...
The Yamata no Orochi, possessing the female ninja, looked at Shirou and said: "The one who fought you before was just my body, a being that had lost its reason. But now, I can see your essence at a glance."
Shirou stared directly at the Orochi and said: "So what? If you intend to destroy this place, I will execute you along with these monsters! Even if it costs me my life!"
"Kid, your goal is to defeat that reckless white god, isn't it? I want the same thing! He wants to turn all mythology and heroic epics into common reading material for ordinary people, erasing the existence of all gods. I will not allow that!" the Orochi hissed. Although she was currently
borrowing Mochizuki Chiyome's body, he could still feel the terrifying aura of a prehistoric beast filled with rage.
"How about we join forces! The Counter Force will do anything without hesitation if it's for the sake of all humanity; it cannot be trusted at all. By contrast, I am much simpler: I only need to dispose of the god who encroached upon me and protect the land I have occupied! If you join forces with me, I can mask the scent of your divine power right now, allowing you to display your strength freely without worrying about being detected by him." The Orochi's golden vertical pupils stared intently at Shirou, her tongue flicking, as if waiting for prey to enter her striking range.
Shirou looked at the serpent god in surprise and asked: "Yamata no Orochi, can you even do something like that?"
"Are you still underestimating me? I witnessed Izanagi and Izanami combining to create gods; I am not the only deity with the power to create the world, and certainly not just that white fellow," the Yamata no Orochi said in a deep voice:
"I am the beast-god representing the origin of civilization in this country; I am like the Giant Turtle and Black Dragon that Nuwa used to patch the heavens in Chinese civilization; I am Humbaba, the guardian of the world's treasures in Sumerian mythology; I am the Kui ox that the Yellow Emperor killed to make his war drums; I am the White Dragon that Emperor Gaozu of Han beheaded. Humanity and gods mastered divine power only because of our sacrifice; human kings established great unified nations only because of us. It was precisely because of my death that humanity truly began to build states and form unique systems. The sword birthed from my tail remains a divine artifact symbolizing the imperial power of this country to this day."
Because of the environment at the time, monsters were constantly reincarnating and appearing, and people were fleeing in panic, suffering attacks along the way. Shirou thought for a moment and said to the Orochi: "Then help me take care of the sorcerer first! As for whether we form an alliance, we can talk about that later!"
The Orochi's vertical pupils tightened as she replied: "Very well. I don't like that sorcerer either, daring to use my power and summon my descendants as he pleases."
After that, the Orochi directly manipulated the snake monsters and giant ogres born from her power. Thanks to the masking effect of the Orochi's power, Shirou was able to use the authority of the gods for a short time. Shirou tried to contact all available allies, meeting up with Illya, Tamamo-no-Mae, Kiyohime, and the others. The girls escorted the residents of the town to safety, escaping that hellish area, while Shirou rushed into Tochi Castle to help Gudako and Musashi.
However, unexpectedly, he also received a signal from BB during this time, connecting with the BB-chan who had disappeared when they encountered the Witch of the Dense Forest, so he summoned her to help. Although it took a while, it was indeed thanks to the assistance of
the Moon Cancer that he successfully defeated the Avenger Amakusa Shirou, who possessed immense vitality, forcing him to retreat and release his Noble Phantasm.
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