Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

This time, faced with the Holy Grail capable of granting any wish, Shirou chose the same wish as the Sakatsuki family.

It's impossible not to feel deeply moved.

An ordinary person would never be able to resist the temptation of infinite wealth, eternal youth, everlasting prosperity, and other fatal desires!

Hmm~

As Shirou made his wish, a radiant light erupted from Miyu's body.

Boundless magical energy surged, enveloping the surroundings and transforming into dazzling magical vortices.

Miyu's petite figure began to float upward.

She reached out, trying to grasp his hand: "Onii…chan…"

"Sorry, Miyu. I hope you can find true happiness in the new world. Right now, I need to greet a guest."

Shirou didn't take her hand. Instead, he stood up and turned his back to her, walking toward an uninvited arrival.

The figure before him gleamed with golden light, crimson eyes brimming with boundless arrogance and disdain.

It was Angelica, who had obtained the summoning rights of the King of Heroes—the strongest enemy of the Holy Grail War!

This woman was more powerful than all six of the other participants combined!

Shirou stepped down from the altar, blocking her path: "Sorry, my sister is working hard right now. Can you wait a little?"

"Pfft. A fake like you, sneaking into the Holy Grail War, could never attain a miracle!" Angelica sneered with overwhelming haughtiness.

Hmm~

Behind her, countless dazzling golden ripples suddenly bloomed—none other than the King of Heroes' signature Noble Phantasm—

[Gate of Babylon]

From within, an endless stream of Noble Phantasms surged forth, mercilessly bombarding the young man.

As she unleashed her barrage, Angelica strode forward: "Give up. A mere mortal like you could never stand against me, the King of Heroes. Every Noble Phantasm in human history will become my power as a heroic spirit!"

Indeed, she was different from the other users of the Install Cards.

She could wield all of the King of Heroes' Noble Phantasms and abilities.

At this moment, she could be considered the true King of Heroes!

In fact, she was even more domineering than the arrogant Gilgamesh, never foolishly giving her opponent any chance!

"You want to bring a future for humanity, but I too bear my own destiny."

Shirou's hands erupted with magical energy as he projected [Kanshou and Bakuya], fearlessly meeting her in battle.

He had already sacrificed his Install Card to serve as the strongest power source for activating the Holy Grail—meaning he was now just an ordinary human. But that was enough.

Shirou stared at her and declared solemnly: "This is the future I alone can reach. I have exhausted my future to summon the ideal version of myself here—to fight you!"

"You called me a fake earlier, didn't you? But you're the real fake here, King of Heroes!"

"Enough! Die, you counterfeit!"

Angelica stepped forward. "How tedious. Your so-called future is utterly meaningless!"

The Ainsworth family's thousand-year plan was to use the Holy Grail to bring about a future for humanity.

All who dare to stand in her way are her enemies!

"Though I don't know what means you've employed, it's all futile. The future is destined to be destroyed!"

Angelica's expression grew increasingly cold and merciless.

This was the thousand-year-old aspiration of her family, and she absolutely would not allow anyone to obstruct it.

Let alone someone who would rather destroy the world for the sake of his sister!

"Sorry, even if it means becoming an enemy of the world this time, even if I can't be an ally of justice, I will bring a future for Miyu, a future for this world!"

Emiya suddenly tore off his tattered clothes and roared at his opponent, "King of Heroes, you shall not take a single step forward until Miyu has left!"

She was his only family.

He wanted to protect her, yet she was expected to sacrifice her life for this broken world.

Unacceptable.

Trample over me, for justice lies beyond my corpse!

If a sacrifice must be made, then let him offer his own future to win a future for Miyu, for the world!

Hum~

The magical energy around him exploded, transforming into countless familiar blue arcs of electricity that surged in all directions.

Emiya gazed at his foe and began his incantation—

"I am the bone of my sword."

"Steel is my body and fire is my blood."

"I have created over a thousand blades."

"Unaware of loss,"

"Nor aware of gain."

"Withstood pain to create weapons, waiting for one's arrival."

"I have no regrets. This is the only path."

"My whole life was Unlimited Blade Works"

Boom!

The ground shattered abruptly as vast, mystical magical patterns enveloped everything around them.

Without hesitation, Angelica launched her attack, unleashing countless Noble Phantasms in a frenzied barrage against the youth, leaving no room for opportunity.

Yet, layer upon layer of purple petals shielded the boy.

[Unlimited Blade Works]—Deployed!

The two were completely drawn into a mysterious and unique world.

A bitterly cold snowfield.

Devoid of any signs of life, without a single smooth path, and not even the faintest glimmer of starlight.

Only a feeble crescent moon barely illuminated this frozen wasteland with its weak glow.

Across the endless expanse of land, countless small mounds each bore a sword.

Like graves prepared for blades!

This scene, both familiar and strange, caused the barrage of comments to explode in an instant—

-[Holy crap, this is so different from the previous Unlimited Blade Works—it feels full of sorrow and despair!]

-[Here we go! I haven't forgotten how Emiya the Great once unleashed Unlimited Blade Works and chopped off the King of Heroes' arm!]

-[Your name is eternally carved into the earth, my soul marches toward death to be reborn. This is the path of an unnamed youth toward his ideals. Sorry, King of Heroes, but this is the last time!]

-[Back then, the chuuni Gilgamesh clearly had his brain rotted by the Grail mud. This female version of the King of Heroes is undoubtedly the most complete form—Emiya the Great, be careful!]

...

"Rotted brain…"

Gilgamesh, who was watching the video, twitched his lips.

Damn, they're dragging out his past shame again!

Can't they just let it go?

But he had to admit—that really was one of his darkest moments!

"King of Heroes, you're about to fight Nameless again!" Merlin gloated on the side.

Seeing the two reconcile was worse than death for him.

Naturally, he had to fan the flames—preferably so they'd fight not just in the video, but in real life too!

"Heh, don't forget—you lost. Maybe you should focus on how to fulfill your bet."

Gilgamesh shot him a cold glance.

"Uh…"

Merlin suddenly felt a little awkward.

As a phantasmal species, he truly lacked any human sense of morality.

The problem was, he was a half-human, half-phantasmal hybrid.

If he had to dance in public, it would utterly shatter the dignified image of the Magus of Flowers!

Public humiliation!

It would absolutely become a treasured black mark in everyone's memories!

Merlin finally understood.

This King of Heroes was just petty!

After his own shame got exposed, he was determined to drag Merlin down with him!

Damn it!

Souma paid no attention to their bickering, his gaze fixed on the video.

Back then, he truly had it rough.

Without forming bonds with any Servants, the only one he could rely on was himself!

He wondered—if King Arthur and the others saw this, would they keep their distance, letting him enjoy the ordinary life he'd fought so hard to earn?

In the video, the real battle began.

Unlimited Blade Works activated.

The two entered the Reality Marble.

Angelica, now embodying the King of Heroes, surveyed the endless snowy wasteland and sneered, "So this is your trump card?"

"The individual and the world, fantasy and reality—swapping inside and out, rewriting the world according to my will. This is the greatest magecraft—the Reality Marble, Unlimited Blade Works!"

Shirou pulled a sword from the ground and pointed it at her. "A world storing countless blades, yet in my eyes, it's nothing but a graveyard of swords—each one a tombstone!"

"Come, King of Heroes. Today, we settle both our rivalry and our lives!"

In this snowy cemetery of blades, the youth raised his sword against the invincible king.

"Very well. I'll grant your wish—eternal slumber beneath these tombstones!"

Angelica's expression was icy and merciless as she casually gestured beside her.

Hum—

Dozens, hundreds of golden portals appeared, unleashing a flood of terrifying Noble Phantasms.

Yet, to her shock, Shirou effortlessly dodged every attack, using projected replicas to shatter the genuine articles she'd unleashed!

"He's projecting copies before I even fire them?!"

Angelica's face twisted in disbelief.

Yes—the moment she summoned Noble Phantasms from the Gate of Babylon...

Before she could even launch them, he'd already replicated them through projection!

Unthinkable!

How on earth was this possible?

"You're too slow!" Shirou effortlessly shattered all the Noble Phantasms and closed the distance in an instant.

Whoosh!

A brilliant arc of his blade slashed through the air, cleaving through the figure before him.

However,

The Angelica standing there was merely an illusion, shattering into fragments and dissipating, only to reappear elsewhere.

"Don't underestimate the Ainsworth family."

Angelica sneered.

[Displacement Magecraft]

A formidable magecraft bordering on the miraculous, almost like a bug.

Not only could it displace puppets and humans like her brother Julian,

But it could also displace spatial phenomena.

Hum~

As she activated her magecraft, a spatial gate instantly appeared beneath the young man's feet, giving him no time to react.

From another spatial gate, the boy was unceremoniously ejected.

No sooner had Shirou escaped the bizarre magecraft's range than he looked up to see countless Noble Phantasms raining down upon him!

Boom!

The area where he stood was utterly consumed by a torrent of energy!

Countless spectators grew increasingly anxious—

-[Damn, this is straight-up cheat magecraft! How do you fight someone who controls space itself?]

-[The already overpowered King of Heroes, now wielding the Ainsworth's displacement magecraft, is just ridiculously strong!]

-[This is terrifying! Even with the full combat buffs from Unlimited Blade Works, Emiya the Hero is getting completely crushed!]

-[This is a battle to determine the strongest—Emiya the Hero, you've got this!]

***

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