C225

Shirou felt a wave of dizziness wash over him before he entered Arcueid's dream. Once inside, he took a moment to survey his surroundings.

The night sky was a tapestry of shimmering stars, while his feet stood upon a vast, seemingly endless field of vibrant flowers. In the distance, he spotted a grand and ominous castle, and could just make out faint sounds emanating from its walls.

He looked around but couldn't find Arcueid anywhere. After some thought, he decided to approach the ominous castle in the distance.

As he drew closer, he noticed that the castle appeared to be unguarded. Without hesitation, he made his way inside.

Once within the grand and spacious halls of the castle, he saw a crowd of elegantly dressed people milling about. They walked back and forth, seemingly preoccupied with their own affairs.

"The representatives of the Holy Church are coming."

"Are they here to negotiate?"

"Who is the representative?"

"Roa!"

"Roa? ... Oh, Michael Roa Valdamjong."

The group spoke as if they were unaware of Shirou's presence, but he understood that this was all part of the dreamscape Arcueid was trapped in.

Arcueid, hailed as the True Ancestor princess and the perfect vessel for the Crimson Moon, had a life filled with pain and nightmares. In the 12th century, she was deceived by Roa, also known as the Serpent of Akasha. He tricked her into drinking his blood, which triggered her bloodsucking impulse and caused her to slaughter her fellow True Ancestors.

The events of that nightmarish incident haunted Arcueid for the rest of her life, causing her to live in constant fear of her bloodsucking impulses. To suppress them, she had to use seventy percent of her power, and claimed to have never drunk blood since.

Moreover, she made it her mission to track down and eliminate each of Roa's reincarnations. With every successful kill, she fell into a deep slumber, only to awaken again when the next reincarnation appeared, continuing her relentless pursuit.

In 1994, Arcueid finally chased down Shirou.

It was evident that she was once again trapped in the nightmare of her past, reliving the events that haunted her for centuries. The people around her were clearly the True Ancestors she had unwittingly slaughtered.

Shirou maintained his composure and didn't comment or hesitate. He continued walking straight ahead, heading deeper into the castle.

It was clear that this was the Millennium Castle of the Crimson Moon, a grand and majestic structure that had been constructed using Marble Phantasm. After the Crimson Moon's defeat at the hands of the Second Magic User, the castle became the home of the True Ancestors, serving as their city.

After Arcueid unwittingly killed the True Ancestors, the Millennium Castle became a symbol of her captivity. Whenever she ventured out to hunt down Roa's reincarnations, she would return to the castle, locking and sealing herself in with iron chains before falling into a deep slumber.

As Shirou gazed upon the magnificent castle, he noticed that there were no chains binding Arcueid. It was evident that her dream had not yet reached the point where Roa deceived her into drinking his blood.

He had no desire to dwell on her tragic past. His sole focus was on helping her escape this never-ending nightmare and wake up. He felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility towards her, as she had sacrificed herself to save him on the path to the Root. Now, it was his turn to return the favor and rescue her from this torment.

He strode through the castle's ornate corridors until he arrived at the back garden. It was there that he finally found what he was looking for.

"Found her."

As he gazed up, he saw a young girl wearing a pristine white dress. She was picking delicate white flowers from a sea of white blossoms.

The girl's beauty was breathtaking, with a face that was so exquisite it seemed almost otherworldly. Her stunning golden hair cascaded down her back in gentle waves, reaching all the way down to her waist in a mesmerizing display of elegance. Her crimson eyes were deep and soulful, and seemed to radiate a soft, gentle light that added to her beauty.

Without a doubt, this was the Arcueid of the 12th century, the version of her that existed solely within her dream.

Arcueid turned towards him, her crimson eyes meeting his gaze.

"Who are you?" she asked in a soft voice.

It became clear to him that, as the host of the dream, the other True Ancestors were mere illusions that could neither see nor hear him. They were simply operating within the confines of her memories. Only Arcueid herself could perceive his presence within her dream, as he was the intruder in her subconscious.

Shirou approached her slowly, his expression remaining calm as he introduced himself, "Fujimaru Shirou."

"I don't know you," she replied, crouching down to pick up a handful of white flowers. She held them out to him and asked, "Do you want to play with me?"

His gaze locked onto her crimson eyes, and he felt a slight disturbance in his mind. However, the "evil" that had been surging through his body helped to dispel the mental interference, allowing him to keep a clear mind. He couldn't deny that he had just been charmed by Arcueid, though.

Arcueid possessed the Mystic Eyes, which had the power to imprison, brainwash, and manipulate memories without causing any lasting harm to the opponent's mind. However, it wasn't just a matter of the opponent looking at her; she needed to look into the opponent's eyes as well in order to exert her power.

He had just looked into her eyes and found himself charmed. However, his evil acted as a shield against the mental interference, protecting his mind from being overtaken.

"Do you want to play with me?" she invited him again.

Without hesitation, he extended his hand, and her crimson eyes subconsciously followed the movement. But before she could react, he grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her forcefully.

"Ouch!" she cried out in pain, dropping the flowers she had been holding.

"So you're my enemy," she mumbled, her tone turning hostile.

"I don't have time for your tantrums. Hurry up and come with me!" He pulled on her hair, urging her to follow him.

Arcueid's hostility was palpable as she opened her hand, revealing her sharp nails, which she aimed at his face.

However, his evil were running rampant, causing the Vampiric Evil and All the World's Evil to mix and form a new, crimson shield of evil. The shield effectively blocked Arcueid's attack, and even her claws that touched it were like touching a scorching iron, emitting white smoke.

Shirou raised his eyebrows, realizing that something was off about the intensity of her attack.

In fact, he found that the strength of this version of Arcueid was lacking compared to when he had encountered her in the 20th century. Even when she had suppressed her blood-sucking impulse with 70% of her strength, she had still been stronger than she was now.

Arcueid's eyes shimmered with red light as she reached out her other hand to grab Shirou. However, he remained calm and used the shield of evil to block her attack while pulling her hair with his other hand, exerting a strong grip.

"Mmm...it hurts..." she winced in pain.

Once again, he raised his eyebrows and thought to himself that her strength was disappointingly weak.

He pondered to himself whether she had exhausted her strength on the "Root" road, or if she had used some of it to sustain the thousand-year-old city in this dream. Regardless of the reason, it was clear that her strength was greatly diminished.

Comparatively, her strength was now similar to that of Diarmuid in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

Despite still possessing some strength, Diarmuid's current level of power was somewhat weaker compared to Shirou's. After all, Diarmuid's abilities only reached a certain level, while Shirou had recently broken through to a new rank and was even aided by the special attack of the mud. It was almost too easy for him now.

"Come with me," Shirou commanded as he forcefully grabbed Arcueid by her hair and began to take her away.

"Let go of me, let go!" she shouted, struggling to free herself.

Shirou didn't have time to deal with her and hurriedly dragged her towards the exit of the dream. However, by doing so, he may have violated a taboo of Arcueid's dream. The True Ancestors in the thousand-year-old castle were no longer mere illusions, but had become substantial entities with real threats, rushing towards Shirou to attack him.

"Release the Princess!" one of them shouted.

"Human, this is no place for you to enter!" another warned.

The True Ancestors let out ear-piercing screams as they unleashed their unique abilities, but to no avail. They were too weak, with power levels that seemed to be only at 30% of what Arcueid should have possessed.

Shirou relied on the special attack of the Vampiric Evil to launch a counterattack. The evil mud rolled forward, crushing and engulfing the True Ancestors, rendering them helpless.

"Don't... don't..." Arcueid unconsciously cried out as he continued his attack.

Shirou glanced briefly at her but remained silent, focused on his mission. The thousand-year-old castle became more turbulent as he eliminated all of the True Ancestors within the dream.

"Don't... don't do this..." she muttered unconsciously, her words carrying a hint of despair.

He had successfully eliminated all of the True Ancestors within the thousand-year-old castle of the dream, and their blood flowed freely on the ground.

As their bodies gradually became illusory, they transformed into two people. The first was a man dressed in holy garb, while the second was a figure shrouded in a black cloak, their features obscured from view. Only a glimpse of golden hair peeked out from beneath the cloak.

"What happened?" asked the man dressed in holy garb. "All the True Ancestors in the thousand-year-old castle are dead."

"Find Arcueid," replied the cloaked figure following him, "but don't cause any trouble, Roa."

Shirou studied the two figures before him. The man without a cloak was undoubtedly Roa, the Serpent of Akasha from the 12th century, but the person in the cloak remained a mystery. However, they must have been one of the person who had accompanied Roa on the day of the tragedy in the thousand-year-old castle.

"Arcueid, isn't she...," Roa began, but before he could complete his thought, Shirou commanded the mud beneath them. It surged and morphed into a colossal sword that pierced Roa. In a swift motion, Shirou directed the sword, slicing Roa and the figure beside him in two.

"You... you..." murmured the severed upper bodies of Roa and the cloaked figure before gradually fading away into particles. As they vanished, so did Arcueid standing behind him, and the shattered ruins of the thousand-year-old castle began to rebuild themselves.

It was clear that the dream was about to repeat itself.

But then, he grabbed her long hair tightly.

"Ow, ow, ow..."

"Have you had enough fun?" he asked. "If you have, come out with me."

"I don't want to go out... I..." she trailed off, clearly reluctant to leave the dream world.

"I don't have time for your childish self-pity game. If you want to play, step outside. We can 'play' as much as you want."

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..." she cried out as he continued to pull on her hair.

Ignoring her screams, he dragged Arcueid towards the exit of the dream world.

As they emerged from her dream, Shirou's body trembled slightly.

"How are you feeling? Are you alright, my king?" Merlin asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine," he replied tersely.

"Ahh... my hair..." Arcueid moaned, her eyes still shut tight as she instinctively covered her head and shivered with a pained expression. Gradually, her vision cleared and she opened her eyes, only to be taken aback by the sight of Shirou's calm expression. She pointed at him and exclaimed, "Oh- it's Roa!"

Shirou arched an eyebrow and seized Arcueid by her hair, hoisting her up with a fierce expression that resembled that of a super villain. "Remember this, it's Fujimaru Shirou!"

"Um... it hurts..." she winced, struggling to free herself from his grip.

He released her and was about to speak when a loud commotion erupted outside the door.

He turned his head and found Guinevere standing frozen, her eyes fixed on Arcueid. A bowl lay shattered at her feet.

"S-S-She's awake, a-a-a-a-a!" Guinevere stammered, terror written all over her face.

In a state of panic, she dashed towards the door but ended up colliding with the wall and promptly fainted.

Shirou: "?????"

The king displayed an unusual look of bewilderment.