C105

In the Nasuverse, the path to the Root was an obstacle that every magus who attempted to reach the truth had to face. Almost every magus had encountered this challenge.

For centuries, True Magics had been passed down, including the Second Magic, which allowed the manipulation of parallel worlds, and the Third Magic, the ancestral magic of the Einzbern family.

Besides the true magics, other magi who sought to reach the truth, like the Night of Walachia who aspired to mess with the Sixth Law, also had to overcome the path to the Root. Their ultimate goal was to reach the origin of all things, the Root, in order to obtain the truth and successfully return to the present world. Only by accomplishing this could they be considered successful in obtaining the truth.

Throughout the Age of Gods to the present day, nobody had successfully challenged the path to the Root. Some may have attempted to do so, but none of them had been able to leave after entering the Root.

In addition, both of the two Counter Forces, Gaia and Alaya, were determined to prevent any existence from reaching the Root in any form. As a result, the path to the Root was rife with the Heroic Spirits of Alaya and the monsters of Gaia.

Challenging the monsters of Gaia and the army of Heroic Spirits of Alaya with human bodies was almost impossible. To break through the path to the Root, either Gaia and Alaya had to allow it willingly, or one had to possess the power of a Foreign God to forcefully penetrate it.

Of course, there were also anomalies like Manaka who were already connected to the Root since their birth.

Apart from that, anyone who wanted to reach the Root had to go through the path to the Root, which was a suicidal mission.

Therefore, Walachia Night's attempt to reach the Sixth Law was simply wishful thinking.

Those who dared to challenge the path to the Root would have the army of Heroic Spirits and monsters of Gaia released upon them. Just like how they killed the Forest of Einnashe in less than a second, they would kill anyone who tried to cross the path to the Root and scatter their ashes.

And Night of Wallachia was causing Shirou great trouble at this very moment.

As Shirou gazed upon the vast army of Heroic Spirits and Gaia's monstrous creations, sweat trickled down his forehead.

Initially, he had believed the hole to be a mere wonder, perhaps some kind of displacement phenomenon. However, to his surprise, it turned out to be a path leading to the very Root itself!

Unlike Servants, who were mere manifestations of their true selves, these heroes were their original, flesh-and-blood bodies recorded in the Throne of Heroes. And as for the monsters, they were not the weak beasts and familiars, but genuine creatures of Gaia!

When it came to summoning Heroic Spirits, knowing how to perform the ritual was paramount. [The Ritual: Heroic Spirit Summon] was the key to calling forth these formidable beings. Its purpose was to summon seven Heroic Spirits, each representing one of the seven classes, in the form of Grand Servants at the pinnacle of their respective classes. The goal behind the ritual was to safeguard the world from catastrophic disasters that could bring about its annihilation.

[The Ritual: Holy Grail War], which was employed in the Holy Grail War, was a derivative of the [Ritual: Heroic Spirit Summon]. This summoning system was a modified version of the original ritual, designed to be more convenient for humans to use.

The relationship between Servants and Heroic Spirits was akin to that of a clone and its original body. The summoning system created a copy of a Heroic Spirit, resulting in a Servant possessing the abilities and memories of the original. However, despite their shared traits, Servants were not the true and complete entity. They were simply a replication, a mere shadow of the original Heroic Spirit.

In the Holy Grail War that occurred in Fuyuki City, the Third Magic was used to establish a connection between the physical bodies of the Heroic Spirits and the Greater Holy Grail. This connection enabled the personalities and powers of the Heroic Spirits to be stolen and copied, transforming them into Servants that could be summoned by a Master.

Theoretically, with the power of the Holy Grail, Servants could possess all the powers of the Heroic Spirits. However, the Servants were constrained by a variety of factors such as their class, the Command Seals and contract system created by the Matou family, and the amount of magical energy their Master could provide. These constraints weakened the Servants to some degree, limiting their potential.

In contrast, the Heroic Spirits that appeared on the path to the "Root" were not subject to such limitations. One such example was Cu Chulainn.

When Cu Chulainn was summoned as a Servant, he was divided into different classes such as Caster and Lancer. The Caster Class was focused on magecraft while the Lancer Class focused on spearmanship. However, in his original form, the Heroic Spirit Cu Chulainn possessed all of these skills.

In summary, in their original state, Heroic Spirits were free from the limitations of Command Seals, Masters, Saint Graphs, and Classes. They were a combination of all their different Classes, such as Caster and Lancer, mixed together.

As a Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne was only permitted to use two of his Noble Phantasms, Gáe Dearg and Gáe Buidhe, that were deemed suitable for the class. However, in his original form, he had access to all of his spears and other weapons, without any restrictions imposed by his Class or Saint Graph.

This realization sent a chill down Shirou's spine. He could feel a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead and his throat going dry.

Despite his status as a Demi Servant and his impressive abilities in the real world, he couldn't help but feel inadequate in the face of such power.

Karna and Arjuna were prime examples of truly exceptional beings. In particular, Karna was considered a match for the likes of Gilgamesh and Rama in terms of his prowess and significance.

However, despite the overwhelming might of Heroic Spirits, Shirou stood his ground. He knew that his life was at stake and that he had to do whatever it takes to survive.

Without a moment's hesitation, Shirou unleashed all of his mud, the substance spilling out from behind him and forming a massive, black wave. With a thunderous roar, the mudslide rushed forward, hurtling towards the approaching army like a stampede of wild beasts.

"Splash Boom Boom--!!"

The mudslide surged towards the army of Heroic Spirits and the monster of Gaia, resembling an unstoppable ocean.

While the others remained motionless, Karna swung his divine spear, supported by Alaya's endless magical energy, and unleashed the power of the divine king. Instantly, an endless sea of flames surged forth and collided with the oncoming mudslide.

"Boom boom boom boom boom!"

As the black ocean collided with the sea of flames, the world was plunged into chaos and divided into two halves.

Shirou was taken aback by Karna's incredible strength as a Heroic Spirit. The mudslide and the sea of flames clashed briefly before being forced back.

In an attempt to block the army, Shirou focused his energy on the massive mudslide until it began to take on a monstrous shape. With a roar, the mudslide transformed into a towering mud construct, its massive frame looming over the battlefield like a giant.

However, the giant snake of Gaia swallowed the mud giant whole in one swift bite before it could even exert its power.

Shirou watched with a smile as the mud giant was consumed by the serpent, its body disappearing into the creature's gaping maw. But suddenly, the serpent began to writhe and thrash in agony.

With a sickening thud, the serpent collapsed to the ground, its body lifeless and still. Thick curses clung to its skin, and black ooze began to seep from its eyes, nostrils, mouth, and body crevices.

The giant serpent disappeared, but in the next moment, it was reborn.

"Undead? No, it's more like a rebirth! All the monsters here, once they're killed, will come back to life!" Shirou exclaimed, his eyes twitching with disbelief. He swiftly took control of the black mud, shaping it into giants and grabbing Arcueid as they ran.

In the next moment, Arjuna's bow sang through the air, its taut string releasing a thunderous roar as he drew it back with all his might. With a fierce cry, he unleashed an arrow that glittered with a blinding light, imbued with the power of a destroyer – a Noble Phantasm with an A+ rank.

The arrow struck Shirou's shield with a resounding clang, but the shield proved no match for the arrow's destructive force. The arrow pierced through the shield and plunged deep into Shirou's abdomen, causing him to stagger back with a cry of pain. But even as the arrow wreaked havoc on his body, the evil mud churned and repaired his wounds, knitting flesh and bone back together with unnatural speed.

With a fierce glint in his eye, Shirou turned around and raised his hand, calling forth his Projection. In an instant, multiple counterfeit Noble Phantasms materialized. Without hesitation, he launched them at the army of Heroic Spirits. Each weapon streaked through the air like a shooting star, leaving a trail of cold light in its wake.

Shirou had intended to catch the army of Heroic Spirits off guard by utilizing his "Broken Phantasm". However, as he prepared to do so, Karna waved his spear and an endless sea of fire engulfed all of Shirou's counterfeit Noble Phantasms, turning them into dust and rendering them completely useless.

It was no surprise that Arjuna and Karna were incredibly strong, even among the multitude of powerful Heroic Spirits. They were at the pinnacle, possessing extraordinary strength that was enhanced by their original Heroic Spirit form, granting them access to all the skills and power they had in life.

In a one-on-one fight, Shirou had no chance of winning against them. Moreover, at this moment, due to Alaya, they were blessed with endless magical energy, making the situation even more treacherous than when Shirou faced Gilgamesh.

Karna simply released his magical energy, effortlessly clearing away the mud tide and the weapons projected by Shirou. Other than that, he stood in place with a calm expression, showing no other signs of movement.

Sensing that something was amiss, Arcueid momentarily set aside her desire for revenge and instead used Marble Phantasm to duplicate the monsters of Gaia, blocking their attacks and launching an offensive against the army of Heroic Spirits. However, their defense proved to be short-lived.

These true mythological heroes were no longer threatened by death and were blessed with the endless magical energy of Alaya, allowing them to attack without any worries. The strength they displayed now was several times greater than what they possessed in life.

Shirou and Arcueid were exhausted from defending themselves, especially Shirou. He had already tried to manipulate the black mud, but it proved to be of little use.

His mud was like an elephant against an army of Heroic Spirits that were like a swarm of ants, each one capable of slaying elephants. Even the thought of running away did not have time to surface.

Just then, golden rain began to fall from the sky.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo!"

The rain of weapons fell relentlessly, dividing the battlefield in half as swords, spears, knives, and other precious Noble Phantasm rained down from the sky.

Out of the pillar of light, the familiar yet unfamiliar figure of the Golden King emerged, revealing his back to Shirou.

"Leave now, mongrel! Let me see how long you can continue to struggle!" said the Golden King.

"Your words are as venomous as ever," replied Shirou helplessly, letting out a small laugh before turning to run with Arcueid.

There was no doubt that the Golden King was the original Heroic Spirit recorded in the Throne of Heroes.

Before leaving, Shirou used his "Wisdom of Mortal" ability to enhance the Golden King's power and weaken a portion of the army of Heroic Spirits.

"Hmph! that's unnecessary!" Gilgamesh scoffed.

He glanced briefly at Shirou's back before opening the door of Babylon. Countless Noble Phantasms poured out like a cascade of stars, lighting up the battlefield.

"Don't you even think about dying on me, you mongrel! Otherwise, those eyes of yours will become my treasure!"

...

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