Chapter 375

These words seemed to be a Vow Bazett made to himself, and thus he shattered the rain of Noble Phantasm that had gathered before him with a single blow.

"Accelerate."

Bazett knew that no matter how outstanding the weapons he possessed, or how well he trained his Magecraft and mind, there were still powerful Monster in the world capable of reducing everything to nothingness. But as a heartless Magecraft, he couldn't just stop there.

Thus, in an instant, Bazett stood before the eighth Servant. Although it might be mistaken for teleportation, she was able to do so simply by pushing her body to its limits through painstaking training.

However, even so, a Noble Phantasm still pierced straight towards Bazett's forehead—

Piercing the brain will only lead to death.

But at that moment, an arrow came from behind and blocked Bazett's attack. Bazett looked back and saw that it was Chloe, who should have retreated just now. At the same time, Pentagram -shaped Od appeared on the arms of the eighth Servant, which was Ilya's power.

Needless to say, now is the best time to obtain Class Card.

"Strengthen, the effects multiply!"

Bazett's hands surged with powerful Od as he punched into the Servant's interior, obtaining Class Card... as expected.

She did indeed hold the internal Class Card, but she couldn't retrieve it, unlike the previous Class Card.

Immediately afterwards, something different from the Red and Black and black Od emerged from the eighth Servant —a pure torrent of power.

That was pure, unadulterated Od —no, it should be called Divine Aura, Chloe realized.

This force converged towards the Servant's right hand, eventually materializing and forming a short sword. However, if simply called a short sword, its shape was somewhat peculiar—

The sword that bears the name of a god in Mesopotamia mythology is, in fact, merely a nickname given to it by its wielder for convenience.

Even worse, it might not even qualify as a sword, namely, the Ea.

The true identity of the eighth Servant is Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes of Uruk, the oldest hero of mankind, who is now a polite and humble young man.

Compared to Ae Flash, whom Novia witnessed during the Holy Grail War in the Snowfield, the Young Gilgamesh possessed more divinity and thus could use Ea, but in reality, his contribution was not as great as Ae Flash's. After all, in the original text, Ae Flash said upon his appearance, "If I were to return to a more youthful state, my power would not be sufficient to resolve the current situation."

However, despite this, the young Gilgamesh was still unconscious at this moment, but the EA he had taken out was enough to prove that everyone had chosen to retreat, so he merely swung the weapon casually at Ilya—

Like a rock-cutting machine, it begins to rotate and is enveloped by air, the swirling wind drawing in more air, thereby creating a small tornado.

The tornadoes overlapped, creating an even larger, twisted, and dark mass, all of which converged and compressed towards the location of the sword.

The air layer, transcending physical boundaries and continuing to increase in density, eventually transforms into a deadly weapon capable of shredding everything, and then begins to devour space itself.

The power it released shattered the Mirror Realm.

"... Speaking of which, why haven't we been attacked?"

"Perhaps we meant him no harm."

Luce waved his hand at Caren, "But it's not a big deal. From what I've observed Kuro and the others should be able to defeat this guy. So, it seems there was no need for me to come. The trouble is with that—"

Suddenly, Luce paused and squinted as he looked up.

"That? You mean Miyu Edelfelt, right? She really is someone who suddenly appeared in Fuyuki..."

Despite Caren's answer, Luce did not respond. After a few seconds, Luce tightened her Walking Stick on her cane, looking flustered.

"Lying is never a good thing, but never mind for now... Ju, he actually chose this time to undergo his tribulation, what are we going to do? God, say something now! I don't think anyone here can make Father give up, they're really despicable, those Buddhism bastards!"

Then, Gilgamesh, riding the small black aerial warship Vimana, emerged from the ground in a kingly posture.

Then in the next instant--

A sharp gust of wind Fuyuki.

Vimana shattered, Gilgamesh fell from the sky, and even his black 'outer shell' peeled away, revealing his true golden hair and red eyes.

And what it presents in its eyes is a vision far beyond the common sense of the 'present' that has vanished from the Age of Gods.

The tree, so ethereal it seemed to support the world, resembled Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse mythology, yet it was the Dragon Flower Bodhi Tree of Buddhism.

It is said that when the Buddha was alive, the tree was several hundred feet tall. Although it was repeatedly felled, it was still forty or fifty feet tall. The Buddha sat under it and attained perfect enlightenment, hence it was called the Bodhi Tree.

Buddhism has described the Universe as having three stages from its creation to its final demise: the first stage is when the iron Bodhi Tree of Dipankara Buddha blossoms, the Second Meeting is when the iron Bodhi Tree of Shakyamuni Buddha blossoms, and the third stage is when the iron bodhi Bodhi Tree of Maitreya Buddha blossoms, also known as the Dragon Flower Period.

Within that Dragon Flower Bodhi, there exists an unbroken stream of human will, enlightenment, determination, fear, awe, dread, hatred, or joy.

In a sense, it's a blessing.

In a sense, it's a curse.

Unable to leave, yet accepting all who come, it's as if it's devouring humanity, as if all the humans on this Planet are being crammed into one place. The vast concept is rapidly converging, to the point that it gives the illusion that Gaia itself, the Planet Counter Force of this world, is being absorbed into it.

The Planet's pulse reverberates painfully, and the faint sound seems to guide humanity, the Primate of the present, toward the 'Future'.

"That's amazing..."

Having regained his senses Gilgamesh couldn't help but speak even as he fell helplessly from the sky. He had realized that the person in front of the Dragon Flower Tree possessed incredible abilities, capable of evading any attack and completely crushing his opponent simply by advancing, getting closer, or even just looking at them.

"So that's how it feels...?"

What emotions were contained in the voice of this young king, who had not yet become a tyrant?

In this situation, the few who escaped from the Mirror Realm also saw Ivia sitting on Lotus Seat with her eyes closed in front of the enormous, hazy Dragon Flower Tree.

Just watching from afar was enough to make everyone hold their breath. A profound and immense will, unlike any they had ever experienced before, flowed into their hearts through the air, as if to engrave something in their chests, overflowing with radiance and seeping into their bodies.

However, just as her soul was about to be branded with this mark that was hard to describe as either a curse or a blessing, Ivia opened her eyes.

Suddenly, all the torrent of light and shadow vanished, including the mark itself.

Therefore, they also saw a person standing next to Ivia, who looked like a servant. It was unclear whether the person was male or female, as a cloth covered their head and obscured their face. All that could be seen was that they had silver hair like Ivia, and their physique was not much different from that of Ilya and the other two.

"What on earth is going on...?"

Just as Miyu was muttering to herself, a voice that sounded dreamlike, whose gender and even age were indistinguishable, resounded in their hearts.

"At the time of the announcement, all living beings and all things will return to Dragon Flower; upon enlightenment, humanity will become one."

At that moment, Dragon Flower, who had covered his face with cloth, nodded strongly to Ivia beside him and bowed deeply with respect.

Looking up at the night sky, countless stars intertwine; looking down at the ground, only the remnants of broken dreams lie scattered everywhere.

"The realm of the universe, the stars of the universe, the voice of man, the dream of man, the stars of the Universe —all belong to my Supreme Being Lord."

Chapter 407 Under the Supreme Being Lord, Only I, Dragon Flower (7. K)

Its radiant glow, rooted firmly in the earth—

A towering tree shadow, reaching into the clouds, seemingly trying to embrace the world at its center.

"We're doomed, we're definitely going to die."

Gazing at this scene that was nothing short of a miracle, Rin Tohsaka felt utterly hopeless.

Regardless of whether they are friend or foe, how could such a sight go unnoticed? It's absolutely impossible to hide it now.

The Association and Church have rules that mysteries must not be revealed to ordinary people to avoid leaks, but the current scene can only be described as Mirage, though it's a stretch, it's the best we can do.

"By the way, was this also something done by the Servant with the eighth Class Card?"

Luvia, utterly perplexed, couldn't help but ask this question, since she felt that if the Mirror Realm could be severed, then this was also possible.

But if that's the case, then what's going on with these two? A new Class Card? But there's no response at all...

No, that's not true.

Upon hearing this voice and turning around, Luvia immediately saw Luce with a subtle expression on his face, followed closely by Caren.

"The little King of Heroes of Babylon may be dead, but that's not important."

Luce shrugged, pointed his Walking Stick at Ivia in the sky, and then his face darkened when he saw the Dragon Flower Bodhi Tree. His next words made the others hold their breath slightly.

"The most urgent thing right now is this: if things continue like this, your world will be finished. Your Gaia here will be forcibly merged with Alaya in Dragon Flower."

After the words were spoken, "those" burst forth as if overflowing, a light that seemed to be tangible, right in front of them.

Countless rays of light emanated from the tip of Luce's Walking Stick.

The lights seemed to flow as if they possessed their own will, enveloping everyone present.

Although the scenery is very fantastical, it secretly implies that one should never linger there.

Then, regarding Luce's words about Gaia, Alaya, and the impending doom of the world, the group began to understand something.

The Dragon Flower, Future being destined to transcend tribulations in Buddhism legend, will devour human Primate and return to Dragon Flower, replacing the Sea Planet Earth, as a leaf. In other words, it will take the prayers of humanity to Alaya and the prayers of the Planet Gaia, as previously stated, "All scriptures will return to Dragon Flower."

The reason why Alaya and Gaia in this world did not react may be because it was too late, or because they were powerless to resist, or perhaps they felt that this was not necessarily a bad thing, since according to Buddhism teachings, the Dragon Flower Three Assemblies at the end of the Universe will save all sentient beings.

Those who attain the fruit of Mahayana Bodhisattva should be liberated first.

Those who Second Meeting, having taken refuge in the Three Jewels and become disciples, will all be liberated.

Those who, upon reciting the name of the Buddha with a single thought, generate true faith, are also liberated.

Seeking Tushita Pure Land is not about enjoying the pleasures of Tushita Heaven, but about getting close to Maitreya, seeing the Buddha, hearing the Dharma, cutting off afflictions, and being liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

So, how long did this calm, or rather, this sense of unease, last?

Listen attentively.

The sound of waves could be heard.

Finally, it was Bazett who spoke up, asking in bewilderment:

"Wasn't the Age of Gods over long ago? How could they have managed to go this far?"

Her confusion was understandable. After all, even though Buddhism is a global religion, it's generally considered a local myth within the Magecraft world, especially for Magecraft connected to the Mage's Association centered around the Clock Tower. Their understanding of it is...

During the Age of Gods, Europe was comprised of two major mythological systems: Norse and Greece. The Buddhism system, in theory, inherited the mythology of the Hinduism Mythology system.

Of course, this statement is considered highly disrespectful to the Holy Church, since they believe there is only one 'God' in the world, and Norse mythology has disappeared into the annals of human history as the Germania regions and local peoples have been Christianity.

"Different specifications."

What's the difference?

"On a Universe scale."

"..."

It's hard for anyone to imagine such information, right? After all, although everyone has many seemingly incredible accounts in their own legends, they all know in their hearts that it's just hype. And since that era has ended, it doesn't matter anymore.

After all, the Greek God are alien Machine God, the South American Gods are Extraterrestrial Bacteria, and Buddhism is actually a Universe- scale organization. This is something that most people, or rather most Magecraft, can hardly imagine.

"Even so, victory is still possible..."

After a long period of confusion, Ilya shakily raised her hand, like a student being called on in class.

The silver-haired girl truly hadn't expected that Ivia was actually the legendary Maitreya! No wonder she kept mentioning Dragon Flower when she first transferred here; she thought Ivia was Buddhist. Turns out, she'd encountered the real Maitreya! But strangely enough, shouldn't Maitreya be a chubby boy? It makes absolutely no connection...

Also, why is the world about to be destroyed all of a sudden?! That's not how Magical Girl storylines develop! Buddha and Magical Girl have absolutely nothing to do with each other!

"While I'd like to agree with what you said, Ilya, but—"

The Blue-Haired Girl's brow furrowed slightly. "I'm sorry, I don't want to lie about something meaningless; it's completely impossible."

"Why... Why... Kuro and Miyu, say something too! It can't be, it really can't be..."

The girl's pleading words blended into the silence.

His forced smile grew increasingly stiff, remaining frozen in place.

"The reason is actually quite simple; there's no need to overthink it."

A voice came from the other side of the sea; it was Gilgamesh, who had been blown away by a 'wind' and regained his sanity.

"Because..."

Gilgamesh was not yet a tyrant, waved his hands indifferently, and the seawater on his body quickly dried up.

From everyone's perspective, when he looked up at the night sky, a look of pleasure appeared on his lips that would have terrified even the ancient Babylon gods.

"--He is stronger than you trash!"

"How is that possible...?"

Ilya said in a low voice, trying to keep her voice down.

"This is utterly absurd..."

"To give an example, you are at this level. The precision you possess is merely fragmented. Even your level of the Principle of the Star is pitiful, not to mention that you are merely a power achieved by borrowing the power of the Principle of the Cosmos."

Gilgamesh, oblivious to the confusion of those present, squatted down on the beach, picked up a grain of sand, and displayed it in his palm before everyone's eyes. Then he raised one hand towards the night sky—no, towards the higher, more distant Universe—

But just as he was about to continue speaking, the young Gilgamesh seemed to suddenly remember something. The expression on his face changed from the Pride of 'not yet becoming king' to the gentle expression of 'walking to the end alone'. Then, as if reminiscing about the distant past, he spoke to himself.