Chapter 130: Enuma Elish
"...What exactly is your point in saying this now?"
Archer's retreating footsteps came to a halt. Or rather, his physiological fear of the unknown was completely eclipsed by his psychological obsession. He spoke: "A Hero of Justice? Don't make me laugh!
Since you can see the future, then you should be able to understand that living for others—this naive ideal of saving people simply because you want to—is fundamentally wrong to begin with.
As a malfunction produced from this as a human being, and a fake that shouldn't have existed from the start, does the existence known as 'Emiya Shirou' even have the value to keep living?
Do you still want to manufacture even more 'Emiya Shirous'!?"
Denial. Without even thinking, he instinctively voiced a denial from his very foundation.
By the same token, Archer, who had originally assumed Emiya Shirou was just like him, now found himself unable to understand what Shirou meant.
If Shirou didn't believe in being a Hero of Justice, then what was the point of specifically modifying [Unlimited Blade Works] into this scenery?
But if Shirou did believe in being a Hero of Justice, then why did he say that compared to Kiritsugu Emiya's situation back then, they were currently missing a young Emiya Shirou to inherit that ideal? Doesn't that explicitly show that he has given up on becoming a Hero of Justice?
"Perhaps so," Shirou replied with a nod. "After all, these are essentially things we once believed in, yet have forgotten.
Knowing full well that hell lies ahead, yet still wishing to plunge into it to overthrow that hell... The current us, intimidated by that hell, have chosen to shrink back.
But the act of wanting to overthrow that hell itself was never wrong from start to finish, was it? ...Though from my perspective, I suppose I don't have the right to say that."
The Emiya Shirou who possessed memories of a past life could avoid many tragedies. He knew from the beginning who the masterminds were and who could be trusted. But this also brought a problem.
The more he knew, the more Shirou became like Archer—no longer young and reckless. Knowing the price of wanting to become a Hero of Justice in the Nasuverse, and seeing the countless tragic cases where those who tried basically went from one failure to another, Shirou felt hopeless about becoming a Hero of Justice, yet he didn't reject it.
The reason he didn't become like Archer—possessing a loathing for the very concept of a Hero of Justice—was truly thanks to his past-life memories; he remembered very clearly why he
wanted to become one. That is why, at this moment, he would give these same words to Archer.
Unfortunately, his persuasiveness could not match the original Emiya Shirou who walked that path with absolute conviction.
"I see, how disappointing."
Archer, seeing that all the Noble Phantasms within [Unlimited Blade Works] had been erased, still intended to continue projecting.
Shirou sighed helplessly. "In the end, you didn't become a Hero of Justice. Or rather, the more you tried to become one, the more you realized the hardships of this path. Even after remembering our original intention, you still couldn't wake up from this nightmare... No, I should say, just like this empty courtyard.
We ultimately failed to become Kiritsugu—whether it was giving up on the ideal of becoming a Hero of Justice, or failing to pass that ideal down."
[Pseudo-Death 13]!!
He wasn't projecting this Stand. Even though Shirou held the absolute advantage now, he knew this advantage actually stemmed from his accumulation in another world—the mysterious power of Stands.
Therefore, Shirou, knowing how he copied and projected these Stands that originally belonged to his enemies, naturally wouldn't act like a brain-dead villain. Knowing that Archer, as another "self," could also use Projection Magecraft, he wouldn't project [Pseudo-Death 13] out in the open.
Instead, he utilized the nature of [Pseudo-Death 13] as a dream-based Stand. It remained hidden within the Reality Marble of his heart, manifesting its ability using his body as a medium rather than being truly summoned.
"Although I really wanted you to see the continuation of this dream, it seems I really can't pull that sort of thing off."
Shirou waved his hand casually. It wasn't projection, but creation; it was mastery in the literal sense. Just as people in a dream can dominate everything within it, Shirou, using the ability of [Pseudo-Death 13] within this dream-like Reality Marble, didn't even need to consume extra magical energy to strike down Archer's newly projected Noble Phantasm with an identical one.
"Therefore, just like this broken mental landscape of yours, I shall display before you a power sufficient to shatter despair, shatter your nightmare, and shatter this Reality Marble of yours."
As he spoke, Shirou made a motion as if reaching forward to grab something. Because appearing before him was a Noble Phantasm that Archer was definitely not a stranger to—one that would likewise make his eyes widen in sincere disbelief.
"I shall use this [Sword] which you, having abandoned your dreams, could absolutely never project—and which you, feeling you could never become a Hero of Justice, feel you are absolutely unable to project!"
The Noble Phantasm that appeared in Shirou's hand was certainly a strange sword. It had a hilt and a guard, and its length was roughly similar to a longsword, but the part corresponding to the blade was too far removed from the shape of a normal sword. There was nothing on it that could be called a cutting edge; only three interconnected cylinders slowly rotated against each other...
Correct. This sword was Gilgamesh's trump card. It was the primordial sword that should not be projectable by Projection Magecraft, which could not even be understood—[Enuma Elish: The Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth]!
Archer's memories, and the feedback he received upon seeing this sword, told him this clearly and firmly. But, why...? Why could this Noble Phantasm, which fundamentally should not be projectable, appear in Emiya Shirou's hand!?
Was it a fake? Or just an empty shell?
"Witness this impossible miracle, Archer."
All these questions were drowned out by the magical energy surging from this primordial sword. Not just Archer as an individual, but the entire world was submerged in a crimson storm!
Resounding through this world along with Emiya Shirou's mana-infused words:
"—[Enuma Elish]!!"
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