The Tohsaka House Gets Blown Up

As soon as he finished speaking, a portal of light opened in the air, inside which swirled a deep, black vortex.

Another figure emerged from the portal and appeared before Shirou and Alaya.

She was a woman with black hair dressed in black, with a transcendent demeanor that even surpassed the most arrogant goddess. Yet, the way she stood there made people feel warm and approachable, like a mother, while also being so indifferent.

Yes, in a sense, she represents the will of the Earth.

The black-haired woman looked over expressionlessly and said, "Shirou Emiya, I've come here to ask you to deal with the white god."

"Hmph! Since both major Counter Force have asked me to do this, it's really terrifying when you think about it. It's asking too much of you. At least inside Earth, there shouldn't be anything you can't do, right?" Shirou said with a self-deprecating sneer.

Alaya shook her head and said, "Although we are omnipotent, we are not all-powerful. I can only rely on the vast energy gathered by the subconscious of humanity to perform miracles within a limited scope, using just enough energy to resolve the crisis and solve the problems that humanity or the Earth will face."

Gaia looked at Shirou and said, "The white god is beyond our reach. Only he himself can defeat that Creator God. That is, you, Shirou Emiya."

"Leaving aside Alaya, although I can't agree with her way of saving humanity, at least she's on humanity's side. But you, Gaia — the Counter Force generated by Earth's self-preservation instinct! To you, humanity isn't important, is it?" Shirou said, looking at the woman in black.

Shirou possesses memories from multiple worlds, allowing him to understand many things and clearly identify the woman before him. She is a planetary consciousness born from Earth to protect itself, Counter Force whose primary priority is the safety of Earth.

For her, humanity was not a necessary existence. On the contrary, as human science progressed faster and faster, theoretically enabling migration to other planets, the 'Earth consciousness' felt a sense of 'fear' for the first time towards this alien being she had conceived, who did not necessarily depend on her for survival.

If, for the sake of human development, the Earth is no longer necessary, but something that can be discarded at any time, and it wouldn't be a pity to destroy it.

Perhaps at that time, Gaia will spare no expense and use all its power to exterminate this dangerous race of humanity.

When she heard Shirou's question, Gaia remained expressionless. She did not deny Shirou's statement and said, "Indeed, the life and death of humanity has little to do with me; rather, it is a threat. But this era is different. The life and death of humanity has begun to affect the Earth itself, so I must intervene."

Alaya, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "Yes, just like how I'd be in a real bind if something happened to Earth right now, Earth wouldn't be any better off if something happened to humanity."

Alaya is the subconscious embodiment of humanity's survival instinct, driven solely by the goal of ensuring the continuation of the human race. The safety of Earth is also a condition for human survival. Therefore, most of the time, she chooses to cooperate with Gaia to save the world. However, if humanity can reach other planets to continue life, she will not hesitate to abandon Earth.

"We share the same goal in this matter," Gaia nodded in agreement.

"Well, about this matter..." Shirou muttered to himself.

Alaya smiled at the man and continued, "So we chose to join forces, but the white god has broken free from Earth's control and formed his own system, so we can no longer influence his actions. Therefore, we can only ask you for help, Shirou. Of course, we won't let you work for nothing! We've prepared the reward."

Gaia assured him, "As long as you sign a contract with me, even if you die as a result of destroying the white god, and Earth preserves your records, I can guarantee that I will rebuild a new soul for you without affecting your memories. Then I will create the same physical body to resurrect you. You can still return to your world and continue living with your family."

Alaya suddenly ran in front of Gaia, blocking his path, and said, "You don't have to sign a contract with her. As long as you deal with the white god, we can grant you anything."

Shirou looked at the two Counter Force with disdain and shook his head, saying, "If you want to negotiate, then don't try to fool me. The reason that 'I' was able to become a god is, in any case, because of your indulgence, isn't it?"

Shirou thought to himself, 'As expected, such high-level beings Counter Force are completely unreliable. These two women are clearly the masterminds behind this, raising a tiger only to cause trouble for themselves, yet they still want to trick me into risking my life.'

Gaia is the consciousness of Earth, while Alaya is the collective subconsciousness of all humanity. The two are very similar in existence, yet they also have times of conflict.

If one day Earth dies and its resources are exhausted, Gaia may accept Earth's fate of death, but Alaya will definitely not remain indifferent and let humanity wait to die with it.

Gaia wants to protect the Earth, and if the existence of humanity threatens the Earth's survival, she will not hesitate to exterminate humanity.

Gaia and Alaya are undoubtedly the two most supreme beings in all aspects, at least within the Earth. Although the white deity is in charge of creation, it is ultimately based on the premise of the Earth's existence.

So-called gods, saints, and Demon Pillar, as long as they are creatures of Earth, are ultimately just beings influenced by them, that is, beings created under the default of the Counter Force. This applies to both Servant and the Allah of another worldview.

"So it was exposed after all..." Alaya exclaimed helplessly, looking at the woman in black beside him, as if asking what to do now.

Gaia remained unmoved, saying expressionlessly, "Shirou Emiya, we are not deceiving you, but simply making the correct judgment. Telling you this information is unnecessary. Even if you understand this, it won't change anything. In the end, you still have to face the White God and destroy him; that cannot be changed."

"No, it's absolutely necessary! So please explain everything clearly now, otherwise I can't cooperate with you." Shirou crossed his arms and looked at the two seriously, correcting them.

"I understand...then let me start with the beginning of humankind," Gaia agreed and began to recount a Human History.

Since she gained consciousness, Earth has nurtured countless species, from microorganisms invisible even under the highest magnification microscopes to colossal creatures weighing hundreds of tons, and even gods who can command the wind and rain. But among all these beings, humanity is the most unique.

Unlike wild beasts that merely follow the instinct for survival, or gods who are content with their inherent powers, humanity has been constantly changing and progressing since it gained intelligence.

The Book of Changes says, "Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs." Whether or not humans exist, disasters will still occur. Earthquakes and tsunamis will still happen. After all, these disasters in the eyes of humans are just natural phenomena that occur during the movement of the Earth. They will not change for anyone, and no one can change them.

However, humanity must still survive in the face of these disasters and predicaments. Therefore, a wise person should strive for self-improvement, just as celestial bodies constantly revolve, continuously moving forward.

However, neither sages nor kings are omnipotent. They did indeed create a legend of their generation, leading humanity to take a giant leap forward, thus earning lasting fame and being revered and praised by later generations. But they still left behind a host of unresolved problems.

In the course of history, when faced with problems, people can only make choices blindly, and these choices are not the most perfect.

Because of shortsightedness, even if the immediate goal is achieved, it may cause drawbacks, and sometimes it is even foolish, resulting in the loss of both people and money.

Even a wise strategist with profound insight like Zhuge Liang can make choices that are swayed by external forces, altered by human intervention, or subject to unpredictable black swan events, leading to failure at the last hurdle.

Ordinary people cannot see the future, even Wise King Gilgamesh who possess the ability to foresee it. However, when faced with a truly great crisis, even their abilities are limited, and ultimately they are unable to reverse the predicament or turn danger into safety.

We can only do what we can to make amends in the present moment, but we still have to pay a heavy price for it, even sacrificing ourselves.

With the decline of the gods and the rise of humanity, continuous progress has been made. When an effective path was found, called 'science', rapid advancements were made, and in just over a hundred years, many miracles that only the gods could accomplish millions of years ago were realized one by one.

However, as human science advances, this race becomes increasingly bloated and fragile. The harm it poses to the world is also growing, with countless possibilities. A momentary coincidence could overturn the world's ecological balance overnight.

Gaia and Alaya, the Counter Force, must constantly keep a close eye on humanity, extinguishing any events that could endanger the world, or sparks that could ignite a powder keg, before they ignite.

At this moment, Earth has gone berserk due to internal problems within humanity, like a series of world-ending explosive charges. Even with Counter Force, there may be times when it cannot be stopped in time.

When the white deity appeared, the two Counter Force witnessed yet another child of miracles born on Earth. A red guardian willing to sacrifice himself and serve the people wholeheartedly; a compassionate and kind savior, a messenger of justice appearing in humanity's time of crisis.

Alaya wants to obtain a helper who is compatible with her, while Gaia hopes to obtain a powerful fighter to protect the Earth, or even an ultimate weapon.

However, they both failed.

"Because the speed of the white god's evolution exceeded our expectations. Originally, his path to godhood relied on his faith to gather all his parallel world selves together and become the only existence. This was something that would normally take a long time to achieve. After all, even if they are parallel world counterparts with the same soul, they will have different thoughts due to their different experiences."

However, the white god's resolve and determination to save the world were shared by all his counterparts in parallel worlds. Shirou Emiya from other worlds acknowledged the god's ideal of saving the world and voluntarily entrusted his power to him. This allowed the white god to merge with his counterparts from all parallel worlds at an impossible speed, becoming a conceptual entity transcending Earth.

He has hidden himself in a separate space, and even we can no longer access his domain. We can only watch helplessly as he recklessly saves humanity. At first, he maintained his rationality, but now, he is almost at his breaking point,"Gaia said.

"It was at this moment that we discovered you, a new human created by chance, as Shirou Emiya's ideal. You are the embodiment of the white god's ideal self. You possess the same powers as the god, and as your ideal self, you are bound to surpass your original self," Alaya continued.

"So... Shirou Emiya, is there anything else you want to ask?" Gaia asked.

"There's another question. What exactly is this white deity to you?" Shirou asked curiously.

Alaya shook her finger and said, "Actually, in my opinion, white gods are probably not wrong, but their excessive love for humanity might actually bring about its destruction."

Gaia said coldly, "How can it not be a mistake? He keeps creating parallel worlds, which may affect the lifespan of Earth!"

The Earth also has its limits, and the white gods, in order to save those who perished, transferred them out of their original world and created an environment to provide for their lives, but they could not prevent natural disasters from occurring.

People suffer and face the danger of losing their lives because of the world they live in, but ultimately they still have to return to the natural environment to live.

"Shirou, instead of helping Gaia protect the Earth, why don't you sign a contract with me and become the guardian of humanity?" Alaya said with a grin.

Gaia extended his hands and forcefully pushed Alaya away, saying, "Guardians are slaves without freedom, but by signing a contract with me, you can gain the greatest freedom! As long as you promise to protect Earth forever, I can give you the greatest freedom and authority. You can also retain the power of the White God forever. You can also gain more power, immortality, and even if humanity becomes extinct, as long as Earth exists, you will not perish."

Shirou shook his head and refused, saying, "Right now, all I care about are the people around me. If I could, of course I'd like to go back to my original world and live with my family and friends, even if it's just to be an ordinary person working nine to five for the rest of my life."

"There's no rush. You can take your time to consider it," Gaia agreed, showing she wasn't going to give up easily.

"Well then, let's get down to business. Shirou Emiya, you're not at your strongest yet. I suppose you've already guessed how to fight the White God, haven't you?" Alaya said with a smile.

"Hmm." Shirou nodded. Now that the Counter Force had explained everything, Shirou had to face reality. In order to solve the problems left behind by the White God, he was not strong enough yet. He still needed to obtain some key 'keys'.

Shirou is going to two other forgotten worlds to retrieve what the white god left there. He believes that at that time, he can end everything.

Alaya said, "Yes, you are one of the keys. The other two keys are in the other two worlds left behind by the white god, the world where Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou reside."

"Well then, without further ado, I'm off," Shirou said softly.

"Okay! The system we created will assist you." Alaya and Gaia agreed immediately.

Simultaneously, the white Magic Eye unfolded, searching through countless universes and parallel worlds within their white rainbow light. Using those connected to the Holy Grail as clues, they identified a target: 'the world where Rin Tohsaka resides'...

Warning: The target world contains anomalies, and teleportation may be unstable.

"Enter!" Shirou said.

Target -- Fuyuki City in 2004!!!

A white portal of light opened.

Chapter 394 The Tohsaka household was bombed

In Fuyuki City in 2004, a villa on a small hill was suddenly struck by a beam of red light that shot down from the sky.

"Aaaaaaah!!! My home!" A heart-wrenching scream rang out.

The black-haired girl with twin tails watched in despair as her home was destroyed into pieces, even the ground beneath was blasted open, and the treasure chest that emerged was shrouded in crimson light and dissolved into dust.

"My gems... my spare change stored in the can! And the treasure chest buried underground!"

Rin Tohsaka was supposed to be a student at the Clock Tower, studying under Lord El-Melloi II, but one day, the world suddenly stopped for unknown reasons. When she woke up, she found herself back in her childhood, shortly after the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War. The things she saw around her were all nostalgic scenes. However, she soon noticed something different.

Although the Three Founding Families and the Church of the Holy See still exist in this world, they are subject to invisible restrictions everywhere. The Fourth Holy Grail War did indeed begin, but it was completely destroyed in the final battle. All the battles were abruptly stopped just before they were about to cause serious consequences, as they were broken and killed by other Servant.

Miraculously, the brutal war did not cause widespread damage to the lives of ordinary people.

Even after the Holy Grail War ended, those associated with it could not disappear. Her father, Tokiomi Tohsaka, and mother Aoi Tohsaka, were confirmed to be dead, and even though she was reborn, she could not change these established facts.

Strangely, when she went to the Matou family to inquire about Sakura's disappearance, she learned that they had never adopted any children. With the disappearance of Zouken Matou, the Grand Mage of the Matou Makiri, one of the Three Founding Families, the Matou Magecraft lineage has completely declined due to the lack of a successor for the Magic Crest.

Even Kiritsugu Emiya, the victor of the war, did not adopt a boy named Shirou.

At that moment, Rin Tohsaka realized that there was definitely something wrong with this world. The Second Magic involved parallel worlds, so she wasn't completely ignorant of it. It's just that, even with the knowledge, she currently lacked the power to create it.

Without the fake priest Kirei Kotomine, Rin Tohsaka, relying on the knowledge she gained from her rebirth, managed the Tohsaka household's businesses while honing her Magecraft and martial arts skills. She spared no expense in finding a Baji Quan master from China to learn the art from him.

She laid a good foundation when she was young, so she will be able to go even further when she grows up.

Then one day, the world suddenly changed again. Demonic Beast hordes appeared in the alternate dimension, and a new Holy Grail was generated. With the appearance of Command Spells Seals on Tohsaka's body, the Fifth Holy Grail War in this world officially began.

Rin Tohsaka, through her own strength, narrowly defeated the other Master, obtained the Holy Grail, and then destroyed it.

But then one day, a new Holy Grail appeared, followed by six corrupted Servant. One of them unleashed his Noble Phantasm, which blasted down on the Tohsaka household mansion, leading to the current situation.

To understand the cause and effect of this incident, and to find out exactly what happened during the explosion, we must go back to before the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War. With the Holy Grail War about to begin, Rin Tohsaka set up a magic circle at home in preparation for summoning Servant, all in an effort to end the war.

In the basement of a villa, a dark, secret room was filled with a crimson magic circle drawn on the floor, which now emitted an eerie light.

A girl's voice could be heard coming from inside, seemingly chanting a spell to summon some kind of being.

"... I am the one who brings about all good deeds in the world, I am the embodiment of all evil in the world, bound by the Three True Words for Seven Heavens, appear through the Wheel of Law, Guardian of the Scales..."

At that moment, lightning flashed, and immense magical power gathered into mist, enveloping the summoning circle. Then, the figure of a girl was summoned into the mortal world.

"Was it you who summoned me?! What a bold human... Hehehehehe~!!!" A girl's figure appeared in the smoke formed by the excessively dense magic.

It has a somewhat mesmerizing voice, like the gullible voice of Gullmon from Digimon Adventure or the ibis singing in beast girl Friends.

"... Um? Who are you? You look strangely familiar, and that hair color... I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?" Rin Tohsaka looked her up and down.

"Yes! I'm Gudako from Chaldea. Due to an unexpected situation, Chaldea seems to be in an emergency. Then I was transported to this world by Da Vinci. Actually, I also got separated from my lovely junior Mash and a pet."

"Chaldea? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before. Is it an organization established by the Mage's Association? But you did appear on the summoning circle. Could you be my Servant?" Rin Tohsaka squinted, scrutinizing Gudako with suspicion.

Gudako patted the woman's shoulder and said with a smile, "No, Ishtar- chan, what's wrong with you? Is this some new joke about playing dumb? I'm just an ordinary human!"

"Wait! What's with that familiar uniform you're wearing?!" Rin Tohsaka, recognizing the girl's attire as she approached, grabbed Gudako's hand that had been slapping her shoulder and said angrily.

"Ah, this is cosplay, cosplay-ay." Gudako said with a casual smile and a wave of her hand.

"Liar! There are clearly traces of magic on it, is this Mage's Formal Wear? The quality is so high! Are you an enemy?!" Rin Tohsaka swiped her hand, glaring angrily.

"This is a new outfit developed by Chaldea for a recent event." Gudako twirled the hem of her uniform, looking herself up and down. Actually, it suited her fairly well. Although she was now considered an employee after being recruited by Chaldea, she was still a high school senior, and since everyone was underage, it was barely acceptable.

"No, no, although I am Master, I am not Master participating in the Holy Grail War. Could it be that you made a mistake somewhere? Summoning Servant is obviously very simple, isn't it?" Gudako asked the black-haired woman with a puzzled look.

"How could this be!... No... I did accidentally bite my tongue while I was chanting the incantation, missing the optimal time for the summoning and slowing down the rhythm... Could it be... no way!" The more Rin Tohsaka thought about it, the less confident she felt.

Although she was considered one of the most talented in her time, with impeccable talent, aptitude, and background, and even if her appearance was slightly inferior to the Golden Princess and Silver Princess of the Clock Tower, she possessed a spirit and strength that rivaled any man, and believed her personal charm was second to none. After her rebirth, she took it a step further.

The First Ancestor, Nagato Tohsaka, was one of the three founders of the Fuyuki Holy Grail System, who established Fuyuki City as the host city for the Holy Grail War two hundred years ago. He was also a disciple of the Second Magus.

Although he was considered mediocre and had a personality flaw of acting rashly and recklessly when he was in a bad mood, making him unlikely to achieve great things, he was also considered incapable of making mistakes. Therefore, it was not unreasonable to give him a try, and the design blueprints for the Jewel Sword were passed down to him.

Although the Fearsome King of Mages didn't have high expectations for Nagato Tohsaka, he was the only one known to the Mage's Association who hadn't gone mad after becoming True Magic's apprentice.

"Always be elegant, and give your all, no matter the outcome." This was the motto that Nagato Tohsaka established for his family.

The Tohsaka household family then rigidly adhered to this family motto, appearing to others as foolish and inflexible. But it was this very family that gained the opportunity for change during the Third Holy Grail War.

The bloodline of Magecraft from the mainland of Japan was infused with the blood of a genius who was not weak even within the Mage's Association, which led to the birth of the genius later on.

Rin Tohsaka inherited the Gandr Magecraft and the transformative Jewel Magecraft from her grandmother, from the renowned Finnish Magecraft family, the Edelfelt Family.

Unfortunately, the Tohsaka patriarch possesses a certain trait passed down through generations: while he can do everything perfectly under normal circumstances, when it comes to crucial moments, it can even be described as a curse.

"Ugh!" She scratched her head in frustration, angrily saying, "What the hell happened?! I need to pull myself together! Even after being reborn, I still can't shake this habit of failing at crucial moments! What am I going to do? What am I going to do! This time, even the suspicious Red Archer is gone!"

Bang!

At that moment, a sound like shattering glass came from the courtyard outside the Tohsaka household. A male warrior, wielding a red thorn spear and wearing a tight-fitting combat suit with bloodshot eyes, was rushing into the Tohsaka household at an astonishing speed.