Chapter 902
Even though he died 12,000 years ago, the ancient god who continues to emit resentment and grows stronger with the passage of time— Shirou— is adapting to the nature of his curse.
"Shirou! Watch out!"
The Cursed Hand attacked again.
This time, instead of pressing its entire body down, it extended countless pitch-black tentacles.
Shirou swung his "Sword of Extermination," shattering most of the attacking black tentacles.
Nevertheless, two tentacles still managed to pierce through his slash, burning through Shirou's shoulder and side.
Of course—this time was no different; Shirou deliberately took the hit.
In order to adapt to the curse of ▇▇▇▇▇ more quickly, he created an environment in which he was injured as much as possible.
"Shirou! I'll come to help too!"
Lancelot flew up behind him.
With her keen eyesight and sharp Instinct, it was impossible that she hadn't noticed the problem.
How could an attack of that magnitude possibly harm Shirou?
What is going on?
Lancelot was about to ask --
"No need, you and Artoria go and support other places."
Shirou glanced at Lancelot, who looked hesitant.
"Leave this to me," Shirou said.
"Okay... I understand. Don't push yourself too hard."
"Ahh."
While healing his injured body with positive energy similar to that of the "Sword of Extermination," Shirou also cuts off the approaching tentacles.
With each attack, with each injury, he gained a deeper understanding of the nature of the curse.
Although the black tentacles possess mass, they are actually an aggregate of curses, and the feeling of slashing them is as thin as cutting through water.
Releasing positive energy would have a good effect, but since it is part of the body of the God of Curses, it cannot instantly kill everything like it did with Mors.
Compared to true gods, the level of beings like the Mahoraga is far inferior.
But...
"You must be more than that."
Shirou whispered, as if exhaling.
"Hey... let me see your limits, Mahoraga!"
The surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Then--
"Clang".
The sound of gears rang out once more, echoing over the Fae Kingdom of Britain.
The golden wheel above Shirou's head spun clockwise once more.
At the same time, the dark tentacles that were trying to pierce his heart were repelled the moment they touched Shirou's skin.
This blow could have pierced Shirou's unsuspecting chest, but it only left charred marks.
Shirou looked down to check his injuries, then muttered to himself.
"Hmm... Shall we go around again?"
The Cursed Hand should not possess reason, but the white-haired youth's calm demeanor, as if "waiting for something," seemed to enrage it.
Dozens of black tentacles intertwined, forming an even larger tentacle.
If calamity itself is an extension of the limbs of ▇▇▇▇▇, then this tentacle that has been created now is the limb of calamity.
The tentacles, formed from the highest density of the compressed curse, could even pierce through the land of the Fae Kingdom.
Calamity was certain that the force of its attack would crush humanity, and it rapidly approached Shirou stood in the sky.
The outstretched hand grasped Shirou within it, attempting to crush him directly.
However, Shirou didn't even dodge.
He was making final confirmations.
Close your eyes and shift your focus from the calamity before you to the "Shadow" of yourself Projection into the world.
The adaptive system is placed in the boundless darkness of imaginary numbers.
Then, in the instant the consciousness connects, an amount of information powerful enough to overwhelm the human brain floods in.
That was Shirou's complete record of using the Mahoraga Adaptation technique over the past few years.
Generally speaking, since Mahoraga is a shikigami (program) rather than an actual living being, its state is reset every time it is summoned.
Each summoned Mahoraga is brand new and needs to be adapted to from scratch.
However, Shirou overcame this problem, allowing Mahoraga's adaptation record to be preserved.
He kept the Mahoraga in the endless Imaginary Space.
The Mahoraga Shirou is currently connected to is actually the one he subdued at the very beginning, which has been waiting since several years ago.
The wheel of gold now contains a massive amount of intelligence that far exceeds the database's capacity limit.
Fortunately, time in the Imaginary Space is infinite—even the amount of information exceeding its own capacity was adapted to by the Mahoraga.
The vast database includes the days that Mahoraga spent in the Clock Tower of London after being summoned to this world by Shirou, as well as the adaptation history of how many events he analyzed and changed in the years after returning to Fuyuki City.
By exiling him to the Sea of Imaginary Numbers, where his soul was connected, Shirou transformed the Mahoraga into a true monster with infinite growth, infinite endurance, and infinite adaptability.
The first is resistance to physical phenomena.
Deep within the database, extremely robust Physical Laws are etched to adapt to information.
Gravity, kinetic energy, friction, slashing, striking, thrusting.
The penetrating power of bullets and the shockwaves from explosives in modern weaponry have been optimized to the point that they "cannot cause fatal damage to the body."
Even when crushed under skyscrapers or the Fuyuki Bridge, Mahoraga's skin and bones could bounce off the rubble unscathed.
It also possesses perfect resistance to extreme environmental changes such as heat and cold, as well as activities under vacuum and abnormal atmospheric pressure.
Even the cage of the natural environment could not bind the Divergent Sila Divine General.
Next is resistance to modern Magecraft.
Fire, water, wind, earth, and space— the Five Great Elements of interference from the Magecraft Foundation.
The binding of Rune Magecraft, the material transformation of alchemy, the spiritual interference of Spirit Evocation, and finally, the incantations of India and the Thought Magic of China.
Over the years, Shirou has exposed Mahoraga to countless mysteries, making his resistance to Magecraft reach a level that even the "highest peak that modern Magecraft can reach" cannot match.
It can be said that after completely mastering (adapting to) modern Magecraft --
Shirou commands Mahoraga to step into the Divine Era Magic... the realm of the gods.
This is a dimension completely different from modern Magecraft.
If Mahoraga is released, it might be instantly killed by Calamity.
However, Shirou took the pain in his place, which is why he was able to do this.
And at that very moment, the curse of the Fae Kingdom Britain was finally perfectly adapted to.
"Clang!"
The loudest sound to date, like the heavy gears shaking the foundations of the Fae Kingdom, echoed from the black tentacle's palm.
Shirou's body was grabbed by the enemy, but the Golden Wheel, which was hanging outside, completed its third rotation.
The ritual of adaptation thus came to an abrupt end.
A distant and ancient curse.
The Original Sin of the Britain fairies.
The resentment and hatred that have persisted since the beginning of creation.
Shirou has fully adapted to the "magical wavelength (attribute)" that constitutes these phenomena.
"!!!"
The next instant, the pitch-black tentacles exploded.
The white-haired youth emerged from inside unharmed.
"Intelligence gathering complete."
Shirou gazed at the calamity before him with sorrowful eyes.
"Thank you for your cooperation... Well then, it's about time you left."
Take a deep breath, then exhale.
He raised his right arm, which was bound with the "Sword of Extermination," to chest height, assuming a fighting stance.
As mentioned before, the weakness of the "Sword of Extermination" is that it cannot perform wide-range attacks, and of course, it cannot effectively damage extremely large enemies.
Furthermore, once the opponent's life level rises to the God Realm, the positive energy super special attack becomes quite ineffective.
However, all of that is based on the premise that the user's own abilities are limited.
What if the young man wielding the "Blade of Extermination" is the strongest Sword Saint in Human History?
"..."
Shirou swung the pale blade without blinking.
The "Blade of Extermination" is imbued not with magic or power, but with skill.
It is Shirou's memory of martial arts, honed and refined to its highest level.
"------!!!"
In an instant, countless slashes were unleashed.
The strikes even transcended space, creating an infinitely expanding spacetime fault.
The calamity, which stretched for hundreds of meters, instantly turned into dust, and even the fragments that had turned into dust were completely annihilated.
The aftershocks of the strike even shattered the sea surface where the calamity was located, and the seawater flowed into the neatly cut void, forming a vortex.
"... ah?"
Seeing that scene, Artoria wore an expression of existential doubt.
A ray of sunlight pierced through the dark, cloudless sky, and the aura of calamity vanished completely.
Perhaps because the enemy, which could be considered the core of the Calamity Accumulation, had been defeated, the Mors on the streets began to collapse one by one.
"Okay... then what's next?"
Shirou turned his head and looked in the direction of the Vault Castle.
It was both the lord's refuge and the site of the six Bell of Pilgrimage Britain —the bells of the Earth Clan.
"Well, let's take that place down too."
Let me see how true this rumor of Britain's most impregnable treasury really is.
As a result, it took Shirou less than a minute from arriving at the Vault Castle to capturing the fortress.
"Oh dear, I never expected you to resort to such a short-sighted method..."
If it were just about eliminating the calamity, that would be one thing, but to actually invade this place...
This is tantamount to formally declaring war on His Majesty Morgan!
In the deepest room of the Vault Castle, this was the first thing Spriggan said to Shirou after they met.