Chapter 131: The Strongest Sword and the Strongest Shield
This was something that should never have happened. It was an event of such gravity that, had Gilgamesh been alive, he would have risked his life—even becoming serious enough to violate his principle of not using [The Star of Omniscience and Omnipotence]—just to kill Emiya Shirou.
To Gilgamesh, most of the Noble Phantasms within his [Gate of Babylon] were merely data points. Even if he didn't recognize a specific Noble Phantasm, he trusted that his vault surely contained it. His mindset was essentially one of having so many treasures that he lacked interest in the items themselves.
Had he not, as a King, established a law that absolutely forbade anyone from stealing his treasures, Gilgamesh might not have even responded to the Holy Grail's summons to participate in the war.
While Gilgamesh could be indifferent toward other Noble Phantasms, he could never be indifferent toward [Ea: The Star of Creation that Split Heaven and Earth]—the strongest Noble Phantasm he trusted most, which almost symbolized his very being!
Just as [Enkidu: The Chains of Heaven] symbolized Enkidu, [Ea] could symbolize Gilgamesh himself!
Therefore, this was no longer a simple case of theft. It was an act of someone daring to seize his throne and usurp his identity as the "King of Heroes"!
...That was how important [Ea] was to Gilgamesh.
As for anti-counterfeiting measures, even under the certification of the original Emiya Shirou—the head of the Nasuverse's greatest counterfeiters—it had been deemed impossible to replicate.
Unfortunately, it had now encountered a different Emiya Shirou. Whether [Ea] was fundamentally impossible to project via Projection Magecraft or symbolically unique, it lost all meaning before the Stand ability of [Pseudo-Death 13].
As long as they were within the dream world, where everything was controlled and created by Emiya Shirou, the [Ea] created in his hand made the heavens and earth resonate. As the Noble Phantasm was released, even the laws of the world were shaken, sweeping through the entire mental landscape!
"Have you woken from your nightmare, Archer?"
The world was shattering.
Emiya Shirou, returning from the Reality Marble of [Unlimited Blade Works], no longer held [Ea] in his hand. He turned toward the now-empty space and said: "Though, at this point, you probably can't answer anymore."
—Archer: Heroic Spirit EMIYA.
A new Class Card displaying these words was now held in Shirou's hand, caught by the Stand ability of [Pseudo-Atum].
"You see, although I didn't convince you through logic in the end, at the very least, I used physical persuasion to ensure you couldn't argue with my point."
Placing the Class Card in front of him, Shirou spoke as if to the soul of Archer possibly existing within the card, yet also as if smiling to himself: "The path of a Hero of Justice leads to a dead end, and a person cannot truly become a Hero of Justice... Is this really true? Even I can't be completely certain, even though I have seen the end of one Hero of Justice after another."
Kiritsugu Emiya, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, and various versions of Emiya Shirou... The Nasuverse's persecution of "Heroes of Justice" had indeed never stopped.
But the story of the Nasuverse itself hasn't reached a true conclusion, has it? Perhaps at some point in the future, just to sell cards better, FGO might introduce a Emiya Shirou who truly became a Hero of Justice to better swindle money. Even if, given Nasu's wicked sense of humor, that possibility is actually very slim.
"But similarly, in all the futures I have seen, Emiya Shirou never replicated [Ea]."
Tucking the Class Card away carefully, Shirou spoke with a hint of pride at the very end: "However, this thing that was supposed to be impossible still happened. [Ea] was indeed projected by me at that moment using a sideways application of Projection Magecraft!
One less impossible thing in this world..."
.
.
.
Meanwhile, after Shirou and Archer had entered [Unlimited Blade Works], the clash between Saber and Lancer had also entered its final stage.
Regardless of the incurable curse entwined around the demonic spear, or the [Gáe Bolg: Piercing Death Thorn] that reversed causality to strike the heart once within range—it could be said that Lancer had used every means at his disposal.
His heavy, powerful thrust ultimately stopped before Saber. It stopped at a desperate distance that looked as if a tiny push forward would easily pierce her heart, but was in reality an eternally unreachable gap.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... that's quite an exaggeration.
It looks like it's right in front of me, but in reality, the distance between us is practically an entire world apart.
I suppose that must be the [Avalon] from the Arthurian legends."
Maintaining his thrusting posture, Lancer spoke helplessly in the face of a reality where no matter how much force his arm applied, he could not advance another inch.
"The legendary utopia... Honestly, is this the price of being famous? Even when I give it my all, the enemy catches my weakness and counters me so ruthlessly.
Now that you've pulled out a Noble Phantasm so perfectly tailored to counter me, Saber, what else can I say?"
He couldn't win. He really couldn't win.
The passive healing ability of [Avalon] when unreleased could already offset the incurable curse of [Gáe Bolg]. And the world-shielding defense after its True Name was released... to say nothing of the fact that [Avalon]'s six-dimensional defense is the strongest defense that even [Ea] cannot penetrate.
Just the fact that [Avalon] itself represents the world of Fairyland—the so-called six-dimensional defense which essentially teleports the user into the utopia—meant that for [Gáe Bolg], which requires a sufficiently close distance to activate successfully, it was a hard counter in every sense.
As for using [Gáe Bolg: Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death] as an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm... that B+ rank beam had even less hope of breaking through [Avalon]'s defense.
"Saber, this match is your victory."
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