After Shirou and Leticia crossed all the steps, they returned to the Garden from a week ago.
"...You arrived later than I expected."
The final and strongest Boss stood before them. A girl with several wings growing from her back, her whole body wrapped in golden holy light, stood there like a guardian.
"Metatron."
"Savior, I knew you would appear before me again.
After all, you are a man whose obsession runs so deep it borders on foolishness."
Although she had the exact same beauty as Ruler, the aura around her felt utterly foreign to Shirou.
Until now, Shirou had still carried a lingering doubt. Could he really bring himself to strike at Jeanne's face?
Now that doubt was gone. This person had nothing to do with Ruler. She was merely someone else wearing the skin of the Holy Maiden.
Shirou snorted disdainfully. "Don't talk like you understand me."
The Archangel's face remained cold, with only her lips moving. "Ah, but of course I understand you.
After all, you are the 'Keeper' I personally selected. You bear the great mission of watching over old humanity and protecting the new humanity."
"...?"
What on earth was she talking about?
Shirou could not help frowning.
There were too many things he wanted to ask, but time was short.
While he stood here facing Metatron, Mordred and the others were fighting a million-strong army of angels below.
"...Leticia."
"Yes, Master."
Shirou took his stance, and Leticia drew the Flaming Sword Shirou had entrusted to her.
"Are you going to fight me? Before that, you should still have many questions you want to ask."
"...Your goal is to buy time, isn't it? By talking."
Metatron nodded.
Just like her dignified and solemn appearance suggested, she was an honest Archangel and made no attempt to hide her intentions.
"Sorry, but I'm not interested in hearing your reasons.
Anything I want to know, I'll beat it out of you afterward!"
Shirou tightened his grip on the Holy Sword.
The air of the decisive battle was on the verge of erupting.
"I see."
The Scribe of God raised her slender arms.
At the same time, her Mana reaction kept rising.
It could no longer be measured in seconds. With every frame that passed, Metatron's Mana reaction swelled several times larger than before.
Of course, Shirou and Leticia had already prepared for this.
They moved at the exact same time.
The Archangel was perfect and invincible.
If she had a single weakness, it was that she could not remain manifested in her complete combat form indefinitely.
Life existed on Earth because its distance from the sun was just right.
If Metatron constantly maintained her serious form, this planet would likely be reduced to a permanent wasteland before long.
So this instant, before she shifted into her serious form, was Shirou and Leticia's chance to win.
"..."
Golden light enveloped everything.
The Hanging Gardens, Trifas, Romania, the Eurasian continent, and even the entire planet were bathed in the Archangel's brilliant radiance.
That meant no miracle had occurred.
The surprise attack Shirou and Leticia had planned had failed.
Ten graces, 1,365,000 blessings, seventy-two pairs of wings, 365,000 shining eyes, forty-nine gems, and a crown.
Manifested here.
"...The Ruler is Omniscient and Omnipotent - Univers Immortel Metatron."
Shirou was the only one who heard Metatron recite the Noble Phantasm's release words.
That was because before the Noble Phantasm was released, spacetime had already been frozen by the Archangel.
"I have stopped time in this world for everyone except you. Now there is no need to worry about stalling for time, is there?"
"I told you, I'm not interested in chatting with you! Ex..."
The red-haired boy roared as he charged toward Metatron, who had transformed from a young girl into an adult, searing heat bursting from both hands.
Lady Avalon's reassuring big sister broadcast did not sound.
Inside the Barrier where time had completely stopped, the Round Table Resolution could not be used, because the Archangel had frozen "the spacetime of this world."
In that case, he would use this move.
"...caliburn!"
Shirou shifted his attack and raised his Mana output once more.
If "the spacetime of this world" had stopped, then he would call upon power from other spacetimes.
Phantoms with overwhelming presence resonated, overlapped, and accelerated in the red-haired boy's hands.
They were the Holy Swords of the Planet from infinite parallel worlds, summoned once more into Shirou Amamiya's hands by his destiny.
A distorted torrent of starlight surged forward.
At last, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of Holy Sword phantoms formed an explosive golden blade of light that could no longer maintain a stable shape.
With a roar, Shirou unleashed the greatest firepower he knew.
"Unlimited Excalibur Works!"
...
...
"Excalibur"
Rank: EX Type: ???
Effective Range: ??? Maximum Targets: ??? people
Unlimited Excalibur Works.
The greatest and most powerful Noble Phantasm possessed by Shirou Amamiya, symbolizing the pinnacle his abilities as a Holy Sword User could reach.
It could also be called proof that the "Projection" of a Magus whose origin was sword had surpassed the realm of Magecraft and entered the domain of Magic.
The scope of his "Projection" was no longer limited to the Holy Swords he had recognized or used. Even the Inner Sea of the Planet in parallel worlds could resonate with him.
However, the fact that copied Holy Swords dropped in rank remained unchanged.
The Lake Maidens from thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of millions of universes acknowledged Shirou Amamiya's justice, and countless Holy Swords became a single beam of starlight crossing the multiverse.
In name and in truth, it was the final, strongest, and noblest savior's fantasy.
...
...
"..."
Metatron was reduced to ash in an instant.
The Archangel's body, along with her Divine Core, was completely vaporized by the Holy Sword's heat.
No one could endure such enormous energy for more than an instant. Not even the supreme Scribe of God was an exception.
The blazing light swung from the boy's hands pierced the heavens, only vanishing completely at the far end of the starry sky.
Did I win...?
That thought flashed through Shirou's mind for an instant, but he quickly dismissed it.
The frozen time had not begun moving again. Leticia and his companions fighting below were still standing motionless like stone statues.
Ignoring his body, which felt as if it was about to fall apart, Shirou forced himself into a defensive stance and searched for Metatron.
But in the next second, three golden halos appeared from nowhere and bound his body tightly from top to bottom.
"What astonishing power. I should not have tried to catch it with my hand."
Metatron, who should have vanished along with the stardust, appeared again with a careless expression.
"If I were not able to resurrect infinitely, I would have been completely destroyed by that light just now."
Shirou glared at her.
As expected, Archangel Metatron was not going to be eliminated so easily.
Although she claimed she had survived through immortality, even if Shirou used the Immortality Killer (Harpe), it probably would not have harmed her in the slightest.
The difference in rank between them was too great, and Mystery lost its effect before a stronger Mystery.
According to the original plan, Shirou was supposed to launch a feint while Leticia served as the main force in a frontal attack.
But Metatron had seen through their surprise attack at a glance and directly stopped time for everyone except Shirou.
Of course, Metatron had not done so solely for combat reasons.
"Through that strike just now, I have confirmed it once more...
Shirou Amamiya, I was not mistaken about you after all. Your radiance is not false. It is the embodiment of a noble and beautiful spirit.
You are the great sinner responsible for bringing this world's primate civilization to a standstill, and at the same time, the Savior who protected humanity until the final moment.
Now, I shall announce your punishment."
Metatron declared in a tone without the slightest fluctuation.
"Shirou Amamiya, you shall live on forever as the sole individual of old humanity, and after hundreds of millions of years, you shall become the guardian of new humanity's birth."
"I see..."
Shirou stopped struggling.
Caught by Metatron's Authority, he could not move. He could not even draw out Mana.
All he could do was think and speak. In other words, he had only the right to defend himself.
"You want me to watch my own people go extinct, then set aside my hatred and nurture and protect your so-called new humanity...
For an angel who looks this cute on the outside, you're more vicious inside than a demon from hell.
I can't believe you came up with a punishment like that. Do you even have a human heart?"
"I am an angel. I have no such thing."
Metatron lowered her eyes, unmoved by Shirou's curses.
Shirou's eyes widened. Anger filled him, but at the same time, an inexplicable sadness welled up inside him.
The boy immediately realized that this sadness was not his own. It was spiritual data that had flowed out from the Archangel before him when she was vaporized by the Holy Sword.
Perhaps it was the halo binding Shirou that was taking effect, but he understood the information contained within those spiritual particles.
"The humans of this world have no future left. Unless something unexpected happens, they will reach their end as they enter the next century."
"That will not be the pruning of the universe, but the stagnation, self destruction, and collapse of civilization."
"Humanity will fall from courageous lifeforms into ugly beasts, and that process is far too long and despairing. So by my hand... at the very least, all of humanity will disappear in the happiest sleep."
"Of course, I understand very well that this is an act of arbitrary judgment that even the Scribe of God must never condone, an unforgivable murder, the worst in all of history."
"So, after witnessing the birth of the next generation of humanity and seeing everything come to an end, I will personally atone."
"No longer possessing joy, sorrow, or anger, I will offer up everything I am and spend all the time I have from now on praying in atonement for old humanity."
"...What are you doing?"
Metatron noticed that Shirou had gone unusually quiet.
"Don't screw with me..."
The red-haired boy clenched his molars.
Metatron believed that Shirou possessed the purest heart, and that was why she had entrusted him with the task of protecting the next generation.
There was no selfish desire mixed into it. Only the sense of duty of an absolute adjudicator.
That was exactly why Shirou was so irritated.
He forced out a composed smile. "Maybe you think you've thought this through, but sorry. I'm afraid things aren't going to go the way you want."
Metatron frowned. "?"
Shirou said, "You still don't know, do you? I'm not human anymore. I already died once during this Great Holy Grail War.
The me here now isn't a human living in the present, but a dead spirit that has manifested again, a Servant body. So I can't become the ideal old humanity sample you're looking for."
Metatron kept her expressionless poker face. Shirou had thought she would at least be shocked.
"I have naturally already taken that into account."
She said.
"It is fine. I will give you another chance to become human again."
"? What are you planning to do? Wait, don't tell me..."
Shirou's face instantly turned pale.
"Stop! Stop right now! You're trying to become... Are you insane!?"
The red-haired boy vanished.
He was sucked into Metatron's body.
The Archangel with a young girl's face said calmly, "If it allows me to peacefully witness the birth of the next generation of humanity, then I do not mind becoming Maria, your mother."
Shirou Amamiya.
The Savior of Human Order, and at the same time its destroyer. He would reflect on his sins within Metatron's womb until he was born again into the world as a human.
...
...
When Shirou came to his senses, he found himself lying on the tatami in his own home.
"Is this... Metatron's mental landscape...?"
Shirou's mental landscape was a vast iron smelting space, yet the inner world of Metatron, the highest ranking angel, was my house!?
No, that was not right... This was not something Metatron had dreamed up.
That angel's heart was probably completely empty.
It could also be described as a mirror.
That was why Shirou, having entered her body, saw the space that made him feel most at ease. His own place to belong.
Calm down. Sort out the information.
This is inside Metatron's body. Her plan is to give birth to me again... Ugh, this woman really is out of her mind.
Putting her thoughts aside for now, the flow of time outside this place... probably doesn't exist, right?
It was said that the inside of a Divine Spirit was an independent universe of its own, and Metatron was the Queen of Angels, possessing the rank of a highest level Main God.
So there was no need to rush. He had to think carefully about how to escape.
Just then, the sliding door to Shirou's room opened.
"Ah... there you are."
The blonde girl who appeared in the doorway said it with an expression as if this were only natural.
"You must be the new Master. Hurry up and make me lunch. What time do you think it is?"
Shirou's eyes widened. "Metatron? No... not the same person?"
The girl who had appeared in the room possessed the face of the Holy Maiden and angelic wings, but her aura was completely different from Metatron's. Her whole body gave off a lazy, languid air.
"Haah... I stayed up all night playing games yesterday, and I'm exhausted. I'm going back to sleep for a while. Call me when lunch is ready..."
The blonde girl yawned as she turned and left.