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The True Ancestors who acted as her pawns were laughably naive. They never even questioned why they were suddenly able to create new True Ancestors that also happened to be ideal vessels. They chalked it all up to the planet's influence. Even the planet was clueless, believing that this new creation was a tribute to her own power—a perfect replica born of her essence, a vessel suited to carry out her bidding.

All of this could be realized because of the wisdom of humanity. Arcueid wasn't something else; she was her Demonic Sword—the Real of the World!

Crimson Moon had been crafting her demonic sword using those very True Ancestors who'd betrayed her. And the funny thing was those True Ancestors were under the delusion that they'd made the ultimate True Ancestor that can keep the Dead Apostles in check!

Little did they know they were actually doing exactly what Crimson Moon had planned all along. Once Arcueid was stable enough, she had her wipe out all the True Ancestors in the Millennium Castle, Roa included.

The next step was just waiting for the planet to dump its senses into Arcueid's body. That would lock the planet's senses inside her and make the Demonic Sword complete.

There was just one problem: Arcueid's long hair, the very thing that was supposed to channel the planet's senses, had already been stolen by Altrouge. Crimson Moon was peeved, to say the least, but for now, she had no choice but to exercise patience.

But she was also wary that the planet might catch on to her plan. So, she pinned all the blame for the Millennium Castle massacre on Roa. She activated Arcueid's thirst for blood and produced her own fragments, making it seem as though Roa was the one constantly reappearing. This kept Arcueid in a perpetual state of hunting Roa.

Indeed, the purpose of those fragments was not initially to mislead Shirou, but rather to deceive the planet itself.

Arcueid was conscious of her existence but couldn't sense her. This was because her true nature was that of the Demonic Sword.

Originally, Crimson Moon had planned to reclaim Arcueid's long hair, allowing the planet's senses to flow into her body and complete the demonic sword. However, what she didn't anticipate was encountering a hauntingly familiar aura eight hundred years after the events in the Millennium Castle.

The aura of evil!

So she followed that eerie aura until she finally merged with the evil she sensed.

That's how pieces of her ended up in Shirou's body.

Living within him, she got a front-row seat to everything that happened in the British Isles.

What shook her to the core was discovering that it was Shirou who had defeated her!

And even more so, it was the wisdom of humanity that truly brought her down.

This revelation made her more humble and sparked a newfound eagerness to learn.

During this period, she pulled a fast one on Shirou and Artoria, recovering some interests from them.

She also stumbled upon something interesting: the Invisible Vortex buried deep within Shirou's soul. This made her change her plan.

She had been hell-bent on creating the demonic sword, driven by her painful history with those loathsome invaders who had attacked her true form on the Moon. She was always on the lookout for ways to make herself stronger.

However, this Invisible Vortex was different. It had a unique power that could allow him to grow endlessly. Since she couldn't snatch it away, she had no choice but to change her plans.

Her new agenda was to make Shirou her servant, gain control over his physical body, and thereby access the Invisible Vortex for limitless growth. Only then would she extract the demonic sword.

She chose this specific moment because the planet's senses had finally descended into Arcueid's body, allowing her to capture a fragment of that power to complete the demonic sword.

It was all interconnected. The emergence of that dragon head was caused by Shirou, and to destroy it, and to honor her pact with him, the planet made its forceful descent through Arcueid's body. This very descent was the primary trigger for Crimson Moon's appearance.

But her plan fell apart. Her attempt to control Shirou's body backfired. Instead, he turned the tables, absorbing her fragments, replenishing his magical energy, and achieving the complete form of the Eternal King.

All the plotting and planning she'd hidden for over a millennium and a half were exposed by Shirou with a single sentence!

Shirou cast a cold gaze at Crimson Moon and declared, "Draw your sword."

She clenched her teeth in frustration. It wasn't that she was unwilling to unleash the demonic sword; it was simply incomplete.

The final form of her demonic sword involved sealing the planet's senses within the blade, effectively taking control of the entire planet. As the embodiment of the planet, she would summon her siblings to cleanse the entire world and claim complete ownership of the planet. Only then would she obliterate Arcueid's personality and will, forging the ultimate weapon of destruction.

The perfected demonic sword would also serve as her trump card against the invaders who had assaulted her true form on the Moon. However, the sword was still incomplete. Altrouge had taken away her long hair, meaning she had only received a fraction of the planet's senses. Furthermore, she couldn't erase Arcueid's personality and consciousness until the sword was fully finished.

But given the circumstances, she felt she had no other option but to unleash the sword in its current state.

Truthfully, she was a little wary of Shirou. After all, this was the man who had defeated her over fifteen hundred years ago and had already outsmarted her once.

"What's wrong, are you scared?" Shirou crossed his arms and wore a self-satisfied smirk.

"Scared?" Crimson Moon's eyes flashed as she gritted her teeth. "Very well. Prepare yourself for my demonic sword!"

With a quick gesture, she summoned a massive boar to block Artoria's another attempt on her life. Simultaneously, she placed her hand over her heart.

Then, a majestic crimson blade emerged, radiating an overwhelming sense of impending doom. As the sword took form, the full moon in the sky turned into an eerie blood moon.

The chilling aura began to affect the black mist, changing some of its color to a deep, blood-red hue. The black mist enveloped the land, while above, the blood moon held its haunting position, effectively separating the planet—half shrouded in inky darkness, the other half awash in a bloody crimson.

Crimson Moon carefully unsheathed the demonic sword, and its ominous aura was so intense that it seemed to make the world tremble. Created as her ultimate weapon against foreign invaders, this top-tier weapon of planetary destruction, even in its incomplete form, was formidable enough to strike fear into anyone.

People from all walks of life, including ordinary citizens, the soldiers of Camelot, and even heroes, were struck dumb. Inside the Temple of Time, the dragon head and the clashing Heroic Spirits felt unease, as if something significant was happening.

The dragon produced a black cup, emanating a dense black light, setting itself against the overwhelming presence of the blood-red moon.

The Dead Apostles looked on in awe and worship as Crimson Moon brandished the demonic sword. Their faces were alight with ecstatic fervor, tears streaming down their cheeks as they fervently chanted the name of their lord.

Attila, wielding the Sword of Mars, calmly directed a rainbow-colored beam at Crimson Moon. But before the beam could reach its target, it was absorbed by the demonic sword, vanishing without a trace.

Crimson Moon cast a cold glance at Attila and said, "Patience, Attila. Once this sword is complete, the first thing it will annihilate will be your true form on the Moon."

Shirou eyed the demonic sword in her hand and sneered, "So this is it? Your trump card is an incomplete sword?"

"Do you even comprehend the gravity of your situation? Don't be afraid. Surrender your body to me, and in my new world, you'll hold both position and power."

"Afraid?"

He couldn't help but break into laughter.

The room went dead quiet. Everyone was intimidated by the demonic sword she held. But amidst the silence, here was Shirou, laughing like he'd heard the funniest joke in the world.

His laugh shattered the tense air, drawing all eyes to him as he stood there, bathed in light.

Finally calming down, he locked eyes with her and said, "I just think it's hilarious. Now that you've played all your cards, you're not a threat anymore."

"What?" Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"It's been over 1,500 years, and after all the hard work you have done so far, is this all you've got to show for it? Honestly, it's laughable! If I were in your shoes, I'd have worked myself to death to forget about these embarrassments. You've been so obsessed with my Invisible Vortex, even going out of your way to do something like this for what? It's just so ridiculous!"

He looked at her with a smirk. "So, you say you've learned from both me and that child? Well, as your 'teacher,' let me give you one last lesson. Picking a fight with your mentor before you've even fully mastered your own skills is the most foolish thing you can do!"

...

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