C348

In a distant crack between worlds, Zelretch used two Class Cards to pinpoint the coordinates of a parallel world. As he carefully observed countless parallel worlds, nothing particularly unusual caught his attention. However, his eyes couldn't help but twitch upon encountering the boundary that separated the two worlds.

"Th-This... is it, for real..." Zelretch muttered under his breath. "This doesn't look good, Eternal King!"

Just as he was preparing to make his way back, something unexpected occurred. A comet brimming with wishes hurtled toward his own world. Zelretch instinctively halted and swiftly reached out, grasping the collar of the celestial object. In an instant, a pained voice echoed in his ears.

"Ugh..."

He pulled a young girl out from within the wish-filled comet.

...

The Castle of Separation... 

"This... this...!" 

The crowd stared at Luvia, their eyes wide with astonishment.

A god... 

A god was eaten!

Could anyone wrap their head around such a mind-boggling thing? Humans actually devouring a god!

For a moment, everyone stood there, completely dumbfounded.

Shirou frowned and scolded, "What's with the standing around? The situation isn't over yet! Weaklings, retreat! The strong, move forward!"

As soon as he issued his command, people snapped out of their daze. The average magi hurriedly fled, while Lorelei led her team of elite magi approached.

"Courage is commendable. Your task is to contain the particles of the Age of Gods contaminating the land. Leave the rest to the exterminators!"

"Understood," Lorelei replied, directing her magi to suppress the particles seeping through the cracks in the earth.

However...

"Crackle crackle crackle!!"

The raging particles erupting from the cracked earth seemed to recognize their master, spiraling into a wild frenzy. Lorelei and her elite magi struggled, finding themselves unable to suppress them at all.

The particles of the Age of Gods surged into Luvia's body like a fluid, seemingly drawn to her.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Her heart pounded like thunder, its echoing beats filling the hall. A terrifying divine power emanated from Luvia, sweeping through the surroundings like an unstoppable hurricane.

Two tears trickled down Luvia's beautiful face, her bright eyes shimmering with a regal golden hue. Simultaneously, her once blue dress morphed into a striking pitch-black outfit, while a corrupted sword and scale materialized in her hands.

A divine radiance unfurled behind her, but it lacked the expected holy aura. Instead, it emitted a pure darkness, seemingly capable of devouring everything in its path.

The astonishing transformation left everyone dumbfounded, unable to process what they were witnessing.

In that precise moment, a brilliant beam of light pierced through the sky, hurtling directly toward Luvia. The resulting explosion was breathtaking and intense.

As if awakened from a trance, the onlookers shifted their attention to the trajectory of the beam. Their gaze fell upon the Caliburn in Shirou's hand, which began to crumble and disintegrate before their eyes.

Without a doubt, the direct source of the beam of light was none other than Shirou himself!

"Why hesitate? Attack!" He proclaimed, his voice filled with determination. "That is no longer Luvia, but an evil god!"

The crowd swiftly snapped out of their daze, comprehending the urgency of the situation.

Shirou pressed on, adjusting the plans for Barthomeloi's elite magi. "Change of plans! Your task now is to perform a group suppression ritual. Your target? The evil god!"

Under Lorelei's command, the magi swiftly executed the group suppression ritual, aiming to subdue the god that had possessed Luvia.

However, the moment their efforts made contact with Luvia, the suppression ritual shattered under the overwhelming force of her terrifying divine power.

The god that had taken over Luvia's body gracefully descended to the ground, casting a calm gaze upon everyone, her eyes emanating an air of divine authority. With a indifferent voice, she introduced herself, saying, "I am Astraea."

Arcueid's immediate instinct was to rush forward, but Shirou stopped her with an outstretched hand. This fallen goddess, having taken control of Luvia's body, appeared to have gained intelligence.

Moreover, the name Astraea...

He locked eyes with Astraea and voiced his thoughts, "Astraea, the renowned Greek goddess of justice and innocence. You were once known as a benevolent god. But what do you think you're doing now?"

She replied, "Humanity has lost its worth, and justice has become nonexistent. Therefore, what I am doing is... Wait, human, the aura of your soul..." Astraea's initially calm expression suddenly transformed into one of intense anger as her eyes bore into Shirou. She exclaimed, It's you! It's you, human! It was you all along!"

His brow furrowed as he asked, "Do you know me?"

"In a distant era, when we gods had just finished creating the tool to restrain humans, you—the thief—drained our world's great source. This forced us to leave without opening the tool of restraint!" she said angrily.

Shirou's gaze grew sharper as he stated, "I understand now. You're not a god from this world, but a god from a parallel world!"

He remembered. Over 1,500 years ago, he and Zelretch had fought against Crimson Moon. 

Zelretch had used the Second Magic to extract magical energy from a parallel world, giving Artoria a window of opportunity to raise her sword in order to destroy Crimson Moon. 

However, the plan had encountered problems, and the first use of the Excalibur had failed to destroy Crimson Moon. Instead, Crimson Moon had transformed Zelretch into a Dead Apostle. 

During his transformation into a Dead Apostle, there had been a momentary rampage of the Second Magic.

Shirou's memory flashed back to Zelretch's explanation after the Second Magic rampage. According to Zelretch, he had only extracted magical energy from just one parallel world in order to counter the Moonfall.

As he processed this information, he couldn't help but connect the dots. Astraea's earlier words hinted at the possibility that the parallel world Zelretch drew energy from was the same one she hailed from. And when he considered the existence of the Class Cards and the world of "Magical Girl Illya," a spine-chilling speculation began to take shape in his mind.

The convergence of the Class Cards and the appearance of these divine spirits from parallel worlds couldn't be mere coincidences. They were undoubtedly the aftermath of the massive war that had happened over 1,500 years ago.

It was the inevitable!

"Indeed, this world... it's not my own," Astraea declared, her voice seething with anger. "I am but one of the pillars representing the gods, sent here in a tempest of divine fury through the passage!"

She continued, "Humans, you are to blame for the world's downfall, along with that thief!"

With a swift and furious motion, she swung her sword, aiming a powerful attack directly at him. Though he remained confident in his ability to defend against it, the black mud within him seemed to tremble with fear. So, he projected several Gilgamesh's shields, expertly intercepting and blocking the impending strike.

In that moment, a realization struck him as he sensed the emotions emanating from the black mud within him. Astraea possessed an Anti-Evil attribute! Her Noble Phantasm, [The Hour of Judgement is Now. Speak Thy Name], ranked A+, was one of the few Noble Phantasms specifically designed to pass judgement on sins, giving her a distinct advantage against those considered [Evil].

And as expected from his luck, his own specialization lay in [Evil]. But, it appeared that even though his opponent had succumbed to darkness, she could still use a Noble Phantasm that held a potent advantage against Evil.

The sheer intensity of malice emanating from her... Could this truly be the goddess who claimed to embody justice?

That thick and pure malice...

"Mm, I understand now," Shirou muttered, his memory flickering back to that small note he had received before.

(Do not respond to the demented with kindness. Do not respond to the malicious with pity.)

Without a doubt, the figure standing before Shirou was none other than the thing referred to in the note.

Astraea exuded an aura of raw power, thunder crackling around her like fierce whips, a tangible manifestation of her fury and malice directed towards "humans."

Being associated with the celestial constellation of stars known as Virgo and being the embodiment of justice itself, it was only natural for her to wield the elemental force of thunder. The rumbling and crackling energy emphasized her divine status and the might she possessed.

The thunder cracked like whips, but Shirou's legendary shields blocked its impact.

Of course, thunder wasn't Astraea's primary ability. As Astraea, the goddess of justice, she embodied the very concept of justice itself.

Her influence extended to the courts and other places tied to the law in modern civilizations. The scales of justice symbolized her power, serving as a constant reminder.

When it came to fame among the gods, Astraea would undoubtedly be near the top of the list.

And in her manifestation in this world, she possessed formidable combat strength, on par with Ishtar herself. She was a goddess who could hold her own in battle.

Not only that, but she possessed an advantage against [Evil]. If he were to face her as himself, even wielding the Holy Lance, he would likely be no match for her.

"Your efforts are in vain. It's your very sins that I condemn!" she declared, raising the scales high.

Shirou leisurely pulled a blank card from his pocket and locked eyes with Astraea. "You wish to pass judgment on me? My sins cannot be weighed by a god. Only I have the power to judge myself!"

He channeled his magical energy into the blank card he held in his hand.