I'm Back / Shrimp with Kindness, Pork with Cruelty

A cold machine, an omnipotent symbol, a god... have appeared in the Root, but...

This is not what I want.

The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and His Spirit hovering over the waters said this.

This is not me.

That's right, that's not me at all, that's absolutely not me.

Chapter 225 I'm Back

Non-form, I understand my own identity.

That's not what I want.

He threw countless pieces of knowledge out of his mind like garbage—things that countless Magecraft, wise men, Sage, and scientists dreamed of, yet he discarded them as worthless.

Knowledge is stripped away piece by piece, intellect is trampled upon piece by piece, and the world's most precious "wealth" is piled up into a high mountain, but this is not enough.

He is still Him; unable to reclaim His humanity, He will always be Him.

We must find back the humanity that has been squeezed out by knowledge. He must search for it in this endless sea of knowledge, which is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Cannot find it.

Having relinquished all "intellect," He possesses no power; He searches within this "mountain."

A thousand years have passed, ten thousand years have passed, ten million years have passed... or has only a second passed?

I don't know. Time has no meaning here. He is like a scavenger searching for his treasure, even if the things He has abandoned are the real treasures.

The emulator is gone, White Dove is gone, Mary is gone...

Everything was gone; in the end, only He remained, searching for something in solitude.

"You can create it yourself."

The mountain spoke to Him, saying that as long as He had power and wisdom, there was nothing in this world He could not obtain. Even reshaping His own personality and making the great God disguise Himself as a human would not be difficult.

But this is not what He wanted.

You can change it yourself.

The mountain said this to Him, if it was only to save such insignificant humans, then by constantly tearing down and rebuilding the world, He would surely achieve a result that would satisfy Him.

But this is not what He wanted.

"The human mind cannot control the power of the gods."

This was the first time the voice had angered him; why should a human seek divine power when he is just a human?

Magic is indeed a power capable of disrupting all order in the world, but He had also seen the Fifth Magus, Aozaki Aoko, who indeed possessed invincible Magic, yet had not lost her humanity.

Or perhaps it is precisely because her inherent humanity still exists that Aozaki Aoko is unable to unleash the true power of the Fifth Magic.

At this moment, He could sense that although Aozaki Aoko possessed great power for humans, if compared to a higher level of Servant combat power, she was definitely no match for a strong person like Gilgamesh.

Does this mean that Magic is no longer effective?

No, this is just Aozaki Aoko's problem; she is unable to unleash the power of Magic in order to preserve her humanity.

Another example is even more well-known: the reason why Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, who mastered the Second Magic, was able to defeat Crimson Moon was entirely because Zhu Yue did not understand the characteristics of Magic and was defeated by a single shot due to underestimating him.

You know, this young man, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, who's only a few hundred years old, tried to trick and ambush you, but Crimson Moon, who's thousands of years old, ended up getting a taste of her own medicine.

It's like DIO wearing the Stone Mask—he's no longer human.

Essentially, this isn't a problem with Magic itself, but rather with the users. They wield Magic rather than be wielded by Magic, even if this prevents them from pushing its power to its peak.

This was the choice made by those Magus, and He thought so too.

Who ultimately gains power by abandoning humanity in the pursuit of it?

God or demon? It doesn't really matter.

"Because none of those are me."

As if in response to His words, a light, brighter than any power or knowledge, shone from the "mountain," and He immediately perceived it and took a step.

He overcame all obstacles, diligently searching for the light source, digging and digging, until finally He found the light source—a broken and shattered stone.

Ugly, yet radiant.

This broken stone stands in stark contrast to the entire "mountain" built of "knowledge" and "power," and its presence here is an indelible "stain" on the mountain.

This is also why "the mountain" hid it, just like a high school student hiding their notebook from their teenage years.

"Found it."

When He held the stone in His hand, the "mountain" began to shake violently, as if the world were about to collapse.

Countless voices entered His mind, countless voices trying to stop Him from taking this thing away.

"Are you scared?"

He was certain.

No matter how great the power or wisdom, it is all metaphysical; these things must be based on a physical entity, no matter how unsightly that entity may be.

He placed the ugly stone on his chest, and then the stone merged into his body. His status gradually declined until he became Him.

Fujimaru Kyoya finally back.

Even though he wasn't omniscient or omnipotent, he still rediscovered his true self and brought himself back.

"Bye now."

Fujimaru Kyoya felt no regret about the power he had lost; all he needed to do now was leave and finish what he had to do.

"No regrets?"

Fujimaru Kyoya no longer wanted to answer this question; even if the world were within his grasp, he would remain indifferent.

"When I am no longer myself, everything will lose its meaning, won't it?"

Fujimaru Kyoya disappeared from this space-time, and the "mountain" built by countless forces and wisdom collapsed with a crash. Without the support of humanity, it was nothing.

Fujimaru Kyoya opened his eyes. The battlefield was still chaotic. The crying girl was gone. Only the blood-stained scarf on his body proved that she had been there.

"Flagg, where's... Chris?"

Da Vinci watched in disbelief as the dead came back to life, while Chris was nowhere to be seen. Yet, he also keenly sensed that there was some real connection between the changes in the two.

Did Chris sacrifice herself to bring Flagg back to life?

Da Vinci didn't know how this was done, but he understood that it might be the only possibility.

Did you pass the test?

The Old Man of the Mountain vaguely sensed something. Although he couldn't perceive the arrival of the White Dove in the world where time had stopped, he understood that something had happened.

Chris may have relinquished her status as Son of God, which is why the person before her can bear the power of a god.

"A test? Yes, I almost lost myself, but it's alright now, it's all over."

Fujimaru Kyoya stood up and put the scarf back on. Although he couldn't unleash the full power of the First Magic, he now possessed the power to change the world.

"Don't worry, I'm back."

Fujimaru Kyoya picked up the Black Keys and headed towards the Dead Apostle, towards the True Ancestor, towards the Church, towards... the future.

Chapter 226 Shrimp Heart Not as Good as Pig Heart 57/112

At first, only one Dead Apostle fell, followed by scattered flames. This was a trivial matter that no one would care about. But when the flames engulfed everyone,

The dark figure, backlit by the firelight, was finally noticed.

They're still alive?

Arcueid's primary job is to deal with True Ancestor and Dead Apostle have broken the rules; she will not intervene unless absolutely necessary after engaging in battle with humans.

Therefore, she had enough time to keep an eye on Fujimaru Kyoya's situation; that seemingly Immortality enemy was indeed dead.

The dangerous aura almost made Arcueid explode. She distanced herself from Fujimaru Kyoya, and dared not underestimate this enemy who was different from before.

What exactly happened during that time?

No one could answer this question because Fujimaru Kyoya say, and when he appeared, a sense of oppression enveloped everyone's hearts.

No one could take their eyes off Fujimaru Kyoya; at that moment, he seemed to be the center of the world, and the world should revolve around him.

Those who surrender will not be killed.

Fujimaru Kyoya's words were very concise. Even though in a sense these people were the ones who drove Chris to her death, Fujimaru Kyoya still did not intend to kill them.

Killing is nothing more than a base form of emotional catharsis.

While Fujimaru Kyoya didn't consider himself to have particularly noble sentiments, he had at least mastered some of the First Magic, and continuing to use murder as a means was simply too boring.

Moreover, this power can only be possessed temporarily. In order to bring Chris back, he must give up this power. He must consider Chris's life after she recovers.

Of course, the most crucial reason is... Shrimp Heart Not as Good as Pig Heart.

Is the person in front of me insane?

Most people thought so, after all, it was practically impossible to deal with the True Ancestor, Dead Apostle, the Church, and even Arcueid and Fou in one fell swoop.

But the warning from within, the fear born of their biological instincts, told them they couldn't risk their lives.

It was just a brief exchange of glances, but the longtime enemies immediately understood each other's intentions. Then, the Dead Apostle rushed forward, and then... they turned into smoke and disappeared.

These Dead Apostle are mindless, low-level stuff only good for being blood packs for higher-level Dead Apostle. It's not surprising that they were eliminated because they have no self-awareness.

They were originally intended as a test, but Fujimaru Kyoya's methods of eliminating them were completely incomprehensible.

If you don't even know how your opponent will attack, how much of a chance do you have of winning the battle?

Fujimaru Kyoya ignored them. He had already warned that those who surrendered would not be killed. If these people still didn't understand, then they shouldn't blame him for being ruthless.

The method for killing these Dead Apostle is actually quite simple.

Low-ranking Dead Apostle cannot be exposed to sunlight; even a slight exposure will cause them to die. Therefore, Fujimaru Kyoya slightly altered their past, exposing them to the sun for a period of time until they were completely reduced to ashes.

Therefore, these Dead Apostle should have died in the past, but they are still here now, so the Counter Force takes action to directly erase their existence.

See how simple this method is?

This is where Magic is unreasonable; the First Magic can arbitrarily destroy everything and then rebuild everything, just like a god who created the world can arbitrarily manipulate this plaything called "the world".

The world is so powerless in the face of Magic. If someone who wields Magic were to destroy the world, then whatever the outcome, it would be an unbearable loss for the world, not to mention the life and death of humanity.

Magic is the enemy of humanity and the enemy of the world.

"Fou ~"

Fou opened its three eyes and looked at Fujimaru Kyoya, then jumped onto Black Ji's head, indicating that he shouldn't act rashly, otherwise it would have to find another master.

So, is Fujimaru Kyoya now invincible?

No, at least one person doesn't think so.

Arcueid charged out. She possessed the strongest power and the greatest Immortality. In a sense, with the help of the Counter Force, she could unleash power no less than that of Crimson Moon. However... the Counter Force wouldn't overextend itself and become an enemy of the Magus.

As his strength waned, Arcueid felt his body growing weaker, a feeling a thousand times more unbearable than the decline in physical ability a man experiences in his forties.

It was a feeling of having power but being unable to use it.

This wasn't a feeling unique to Arcueid; it was felt by all the True Ancestor and Dead Apostle. The source of this feeling was unknown, yet it filled them with dread, as if they were being rejected by this planet.

"Bang!"

Fujimaru Kyoya didn't use much force; he sent Arcueid flying with just one punch, which wasn't particularly difficult to understand.

"The birth of the True Ancestor was merely a batch of beings created by Gaia in collaboration with Crimson Moon to counterbalance Alaya consciousness, due to the Divine Era Decline and its rise."

Fujimaru Kyoya briefly explained the origins of the True Ancestor clan.

"The True Ancestor are merely tools used by Gaia. You can transform humans into Dead Apostle through blood-drinking, and in doing so, you can corrupt Alaya. This is what Gaia wants to see, but it is clearly not the result Crimson Moon desires."

At this point, Fujimaru Kyoya was fully aware of the conflict between Gaia and Crimson Moon.

Gaia wanted to exploit Crimson Moon's power for free, using Crimson Moon's True Ancestor to completely corrupt Alaya, and then discard him after his death. However, Crimson Moon himself was not someone to be trifled with, and this UO from the moon had impure motives for descending to Earth. It was only a matter of time before the two sides clashed.