Chapter 206

"Here's what I'm thinking: if you can actually save the world because of this, then it's fine."

"In that case, in other words, the reason you're stopping me is because you think I'm doing something wrong?"

Novia nodded, and although her answer was clear, Amakusa felt extremely annoyed.

What is he thinking?

I don't know. Amakusa's strength of 'calmly accepting everything before him, and no matter how desperate he is, he can't be defeated' means nothing to this man. I can't understand why he would stop me, even though we are pursuing the same thing.

Moreover, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see through Favia's thoughts... This made the Ruler very angry, which was a rare occurrence for him, but at the same time, he had an irresistible charm, because in front of this god, there was no need to try to see through his thoughts, which in a sense could be said to be a complete sense of security.

Amakusa Shirou knew better than anyone that he had no chance of defeating the Fifth Sun before him.

That was undoubtedly an absolute powerhouse... but Amakusa did not give up because of that.

For the past sixty years, he has done everything he could, devising various tactics and executing various strategies. Of course, he is not giving up; even in defeat, he will wait for the next opportunity. But how many years will it take for the next opportunity to arrive? How many sacrifices must be made? He must achieve victory here no matter what...

How can we give up? We've come so far, so incredibly, and the day when we can see a tomorrow unlike any other is finally here.

The Future of humanity, built upon sixty years of life's work, is destined for success.

The sanctioners, who have waited sixty years, dream of tomorrow's Future.

Therefore, the Ruler's expression was somewhat Sorrow.

"I hold no grudge against you, but I must achieve my dream."

Amakusa Shirou never considered running away, but he also understood that he had absolutely no chance of winning. Against this god who was like the Sun, his auxiliary Noble Phantasm, 'Right Hand, Evil Eater' and 'Left Hand, Heaven's Foundation,' were simply no match.

However... this doesn't necessarily have to be a life-or-death situation; in other words, it's enough to get past him and reach the Greater Grail.

"By the command of the twelve Command Spell, you shall begin to infuse power into the holder. Right hand, Spatial Demise; Left hand, Drive Deconstruction."

Amakusa's Magic Circuits are much larger than the average Magecraft's, but that's all. Even if he possessed ten, a hundred, or a thousand times more Od than the average Magecraft can store, or even more, he would still be defeated by those flames. The strongest Deity in the Americas, famous throughout the world, has a heat like the Sun's radiance. There is nothing in this world that can rival it.

However, the Ruler, in order to unleash a miracle, prepared to sever the Magic Circuits of his right arm, overwrite its function, shrink its overall size, and adjust it to a state where it could be supplied solely by his left arm. The Od of the four Servant was channeled to his right hand, causing the Magic Circuits to spiral out of control—

Overwhelmed by pain, the Flesh gradually decays, while the brain is on the verge of rupture due to overload.

The power used to suppress and the precision required for adjustment must be continuously adjusted to maintain both at a high level. If the right arm, which is gradually going out of control, cannot be suppressed with Od, the Flesh will explode. If the adjustment of the Od is off by even a fraction of a second, the brain will explode.

There was absolutely no energy left.

Despite their desperate struggle to survive, they even lost the chance to struggle.

Surrendering himself to the slowing sensation of time, Amakusa Shirou gambled everything on controlling his right arm. He didn't pray to God, rely on Him, or cling to Him; instead, he created a miracle, pouring Od to its limit. The Magic Circuits broke, but in an instant, he regained control and issued commands—

"Right hand, Zero-Order Convergence."

That was almost like a black hole. The right arm, which was gradually going out of control, did not explode, but instead consumed the Od through intense focusing.

This seemed to be the very moment of conflict between the creation of heaven and earth and the collapse of the Universe.

One-hundredth of a second after the order was given, Amakusa severed his right arm without hesitation, attempting to temporarily swallow the flames of the Sun God by the black hole that caused all things to shrink. The sound of the two powerful forces clashing and gnawing at each other echoed through the space.

In that instant, Amakusa Shirou rushed toward the location of the Greater Grail with the most anxious feeling of his life. He did not expect this move to harm Favia. He only needed to buy a little time, just a little, just one second to complete the modification of the Holy Grail.

That's why, due to Adam Golem's 'return' and the array provided by the Red Faction's Caster, if Amakusa wanted to transform the Greater Grail into the Heaven's Feel, all he needed was to make contact with it.

The Ruler was incredibly fast; he was just one step away from reaching the Greater Grail.

Amakusa's hand was grabbed by Novia.

This step never came, meaning it can never come again.

Everything that Amakusa Shirou Shiro had created with such Od was utterly useless to Novia.

In fact, he doesn't even need to do it himself; he can use his Authority to reverse a certain degree of 'time'.

"Damn it... why deny my hope...?"

Amakusa's face was contorted, as was his inner state.

Having lived for sixty years without aging, living longer than he did in life, he has experienced unbearable distortion due to his incarnation.

"Granting humanity Third Magic, and peace may indeed visit the world. Many things will remain unchanged, and eternal tranquility may await us. A world without change, without conflict, without injury, a world where everyone can stay..."

Then, Novia, holding Amakusa's arm, said decisively:

"If the world were forever at peace, without suffering, and forever stable, joy would also disappear."

The next second, Amakusa's face was filled with joy, and he cheered.

"Ahhhhh, yes, it's a necessary sacrifice! But the world is ushering in complete peace! You saw it, didn't you, Your Excellency? What a dazzling Future it is! I'm so happy! Ahhh, you really are like me! So, so, let's save the world together!"

Seeing Amakusa's frenzied state, Novia simply said:

"However, there is no meaning in a world that remains unchanged forever, and people can get there by their own hands."

"Are you kidding me!"

Amakusa's voice was like a cry, as if she were releasing all the emotions that had been accumulating for so long, with tears streaming down her face.

"This is wrong! The majority of humanity is 'good,' but fragile and extremely weak. A tiny minority of 'evil' individuals, driven by selfish desires, exploit good people, causing them to kill one another!!! I've witnessed it with my own eyes! Humans can only be trapped in that madness, constantly subjected to malicious slaughter and destruction!!"

That was how it was then, that was how it was in the past, and that will be how it will be in the Future!!!

The light of Heaven's Feel will surely dispel the darkness that shrouds this era!

The combined radiance of scattered people cannot erase it; as the Sun God, you should know this well! Humanity itself cannot save humanity!

Even if I die because of this, or never see it again, it doesn't matter. You can kill me if you want, but you must lead humanity to a peaceful world!!!

Amakusa's shouts did indeed reach Novia's ears, and he naturally saw the boy's pained expression.

Therefore—

"I see."

The blond man released the boy's arm, sensing his joy and sorrow.

"Do you think the brilliance of Heaven's Feel is enough to overshadow the light of humanity?"

That's wrong. Even if the world is temporarily shrouded in darkness, there will always be brilliant people who shine in order to survive. Even if they can't dispel the darkness for a while, they will hold hands, leaving no one behind, and cross the dark night together.

We must believe that their brilliance can save this world shrouded in the end times; no one has the right to destroy a world where people are still shining.

His smile looked so beautiful, Amakusa Shirou thought again.

"I've seen what you did before, Amakusa, but I also know that you won't understand some things unless you try them..."

I died once before, but was saved by what you perceive as the faint light of humanity.

So, let's take a look--"

The next instant, in Amakusa's sight, a crack appeared in the man's previously empty hand, from which a sword of mixed white, red, and black slowly emerged. The boy did not recognize the sword, but he sincerely felt it was extremely beautiful.

"The brilliance that humanity gathers is enough to surpass the Heaven's Feel."

This one and only Primordial Sacred Sword, fused with the Demonic Sword: True World, was swung by Novia as if in jest, and then—

The immeasurable speed and energy transformed into a stream of light, rushing towards Amakusa Shirou.

"..."

In that instant, radiance engulfed Amakusa, and the Ruler had gained a physical body, gradually disappeared.

Upon closer inspection, the stream of light was not a massive radiance, but rather a condensation of countless tiny points of light.

The Ruler touched each of those points of light and saw all sorts of things.

The men cheering wildly, the women basking in the Sun, the children laughing—everyone was scarred and filthy, yet they were dazzlingly bright, almost blindingly so.

After all, the Star Sword itself is a concept that embodies all the sorrows and aspirations of the Planet.

Therefore, Amakusa Shirou admitted that the radiance he had actually experienced and seen truly surpassed the radiance of the Heaven's Feel that he had imagined.

"Someone's here to help you, Amakusa."

As Novia's voice echoed in Amakusa's ears, the gradually fading Amakusa realized that beneath the radiance that concealed him, there was a slight reversal—the faint radiance of his father, mother, sister, and the 37,000 people who had been massacred.

They stood behind Shirou without saying a word, simply standing there to support him.

At this moment, Amakusa Shirou understood and was willing to believe in humanity's 'present'.

"I... did something wrong..."

However, Amakusa felt a little fortunate. Although he only understood this now, he felt great about the failures and setbacks he encountered because of it.

That's why, whether it's the souls of the dead or the living, everyone strives to pursue something in the distance— the Future of humanity.

Everyone is struggling to stop the conflict.

Everyone hopes to move forward in peace.

Even slowly, even hesitantly, humanity as a whole continues to move forward. One day, humanity will reach the other side of our dreams, ascending to the infinite heavens. Despite repeated, incurable failures and setbacks, humanity continues to move forward, climbing the ladder.

"But this is my... sin... please forgive me..."

"No, you are innocent, and those who are willing to help you are innocent too, because 'even so, I will still be watching you.'" Novia's voice rang out again, "Next time we meet, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, you can call me by my other name, Novia."

The Ruler's consciousness gradually faded into the stream of light, and in his final moments, he murmured:

"... Thanks to you, I didn't make such a mistake."

However, during this process, Amakusa desperately tried to remember one emotion, not wanting it to be forgotten, and that emotion was—regret.

I am actually addressing Novia, the founder of the Church, the Holy One, the successor of Jesus Christ, the one who correctly understands the Lord's will, the head of God's servants, the leader of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, the mediator of strife, the forerunner of the world, the counter of all things, the one whose Faith in the Lord is inexhaustible, the supreme head of the universal Church, the servant of the Holy Land, the teacher of the Rome provinces, the writer of the New Covenant, the judge of the Heaven's Gate, and so on, plus countless other titles added over the thousands of Novia!

Moreover, that being is also speculated to be the 'Holy Spirit' by countless theological doctrines...

In short Amakusa was filled with regret, but fortunately he also realized his mistake.

Therefore, as he completely vanished, besides regret, Amakusa was also filled with confusion.

Jeanne d'Arc, why did you utter such treasonous words?

After Novia made the Primordial Sacred Sword shine so that Amakusa could comprehend it, she put it back into the 'Gap'.

To be honest, Novia doesn't usually use the Holy Sword on beings located on Planet, because the Holy Sword was originally forged by the Planet because of the Giant God, using all the Planet's sorrows and wishes. Although Gaia and these sorrows and wishes will do their best to provide him with power, Novia still feels it's unnecessary.

Because it is also a part of the Planet.

However, before Novia could return it, the Holy Sword itself seemed to have developed a strong aversion to being placed back.

This is quite normal for it. After being placed in the water, it stayed there for thousands of years. It finally returned, but it has hardly been used at all.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'll definitely do it next time."

After Novia offered some words of comfort, the Holy Sword became somewhat more docile and willingly relinquished its place.

Then Novia looked at the Greater Grail, the all-powerful wish machine filled with blue and white light.

Amakusa Shirou has withdrawn and can no longer modify the Holy Grail. The Red Faction Team is no longer a formidable opponent, and the Holy Grail War is over.

All is well; the world will not be destroyed because of this.

Perhaps because of Novia's presence and the fact that the Authority of Greece on her is currently closed, the remaining people will be able to reach the end of the seventh day in an extremely peaceful manner. After all, not to mention the Black Faction, Afu, Siegfried, Fran, Chiron are already quite peaceful.

The Red Faction's Atalanta, Achilles, and Novia possess Authority of Greece, and Chiron is also easy to deal with.

Mordred had long been completely subdued by Tlaloc, the three Command Spell of Shishigou, and the one Command Spell of Jeanne d'Arc.

As for the Divine Ancestor, there's no need to overthink it; it's very simple.

If anyone's going to make a move, it'll probably be Semiramis, since Novia has Familiar control of the Dove familiar she treated as her 'parent'...

Aren't you coming out yet?

After a few seconds of contemplation, Novia turned her head to one side.

At this moment, because the battle between Amakusa and Novia had ended, this space was entirely a pale blue color.

However, several seconds passed after Novia spoke, and there was still no response. This prompted Novia to reach out her hand towards that spot.

"Alright, alright, let's get out, okay?"

Red Faction Caster, suspected to be Tamamo no Mae, urgently appeared upon seeing this situation.

"That Amakusa Shirou! He disappeared so quickly. Now we can't hide it anymore. The Greater Grail has fallen into enemy hands. What will become of me, the Servant who used illusion magic to assist Amakusa Shirou? Ha, will I be finished right away?"

Novia wasn't surprised at all that this Servant appeared within the Greater Grail, a place where any Servant should have been melted and suffered immeasurable pain. For someone capable of casting illusions that could conceal their true nature even from the gods, doing so was child's play, especially since—

"I'm not interested in acting with you."

As soon as Novia finished speaking, the Greater Grail, which was shining with blue light behind him, shattered instantly.