C96

"ROA!!!!"

The air was filled with a voice dripping with malice, as if it had been summoned straight from the depths of hell.

Shirou's body radiated evil energy as he brought his two massive, jagged arms crashing down towards Arcueid.

However, in the next instant, two similar giant hands mysteriously appeared on either side of Arcueid, blocking Shirou's attack.

'Marble Phantasm! It's Arcueid, all right!'

As black mud churned in his belly, he extended a huge hand and propelled himself into the sky, his back sprouting two massive black wings that carried him higher into the clouds. As he soared, the mud in his belly flowed, slowly mending the stab wound and healing his body.

"Don't even think about getting away!" Arcueid also grew wings, taking flight and pursuing Shirou in an attempt to kill him.

Shirou projected fifty-six swords, launching them at Arcueid.

But Arcueid immediately countered by manifesting an equal number of swords, shooting them back at him.

Shirou was speechless.

He now understood the feeling Gilgamesh must have had when they faced off against each other.

Arcueid Brunestud, also known as the White Princess, was a prominent figure in the world of "Tsukihime". She possessed the power of "Marble Phantasm", one of the top abilities in the Nasuverse, which allowed her to materialize anything she could imagine through the power of her mind.

When she came face to face with Shirou's black hands, she utilized the "Marble Phantasm" to create a massive hand that blocked his attack and duplicated his projection swords.

The origin of the world was intricately tied to Arcueid's story. Approximately 14,000 years ago, a comet known as the Wandering Star visited the Milky Way and cast three Anti-Cells into the solar system.

One of these three Anti-Cells was Sefar, who descended to Earth and wreaked havoc, ultimately destroying most of mankind's earliest civilizations, including Atlantis in an event that would be remembered as the Leukosmachia. However, Sefar was eventually killed by the wielder of the Holy Sword.

Even so, Sefar had successfully burned to ash 80% of the planet's surface, not only killing most of the plants, animals, and humans but even the gods themselves. The gods saw that the planet was breaking away from nature and that humans would soon take control of the world.

In order to coexist with humans and maintain control over them, the gods created the Wedge of Heaven, and Gilgamesh was born, designed, as king and the Wedge of Heaven to connect the rising humans and the fading gods

However, Gilgamesh rebelled against the gods and eventually chose to side with humans, betraying the gods and causing the separation of humans and gods. This led to the inevitable destruction of the Age of Gods and marked the beginning of the Age of Man. The planet also broke free from the control of nature and Mystery began to fade.

Three thousand years ago, after the death of King Solomon, the rate of Mystery's decline accelerated and the Age of Gods came to a close. By the 1st century AD, the Age of Gods on the continent had virtually disappeared. By the 5th century AD, after the fall of King Arthur, the remaining Mystery left by the gods was extinct and most Phantasmal Species choose to go into hiding.

As the power of humanity continued to grow, it was precisely what the planet's consciousness, Gaia, had feared before the Age of Gods, but it was powerless to solve the problem.

Brunestud the Crimson Moon had a sinister plan. He made a deal with Gaia, tricking her into allowing him to live on Earth in exchange for protection against human corruption.

With crimson and gentle eyes, he made a false promise to Gaia. "I will protect the earth in place of your inability to act," With this promise, Brunestud descended from the Moon to the Earth.

When the need arose, Gaia created the True Ancestors based on Brunestud. They served as a natural protective system for the Earth and were Gaia's direct means of defense against humanity. But she was unaware of Brunestud's true intentions of ruling the Earth.

When she eventually discovered Brunestud's plans, the outcome was not favorable for him. Brunestud was aware that his life was quickly coming to an end due to the numerous enemies he had made, as his "world corrosive will" defied both Gaia and Alaya. In an effort to ensure his legacy lived on, he attempted to create True Ancestors of equal purity to himself as his successors. However, all of his attempts proved to be unsuccessful.

Thus, Brunestud took it upon himself to teach the True Ancestors how to create more of their kind.

In 300 AD, Brunestud met his downfall at the hands of Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, who wielded the Second Magic. Despite his immense power, Brunestud was unable to anticipate being defeated by a human. He had attempted to pull the moon towards Earth, but Zelretch's magic pushed it back, preventing any harm to the planet. Brunestud realized too late the true power of Magic, which operates as "a rule outside of the rules."

In the twelfth century, the True Ancestors, deemed failures by Brunestud, succeeded where he had failed by creating Arcueid. She possessed power that rivaled Brunestud's and had the ability to draw power and information from Gaia. She's truly the White Princess and one of the powerhouses in the Nasuverse.

However, approximately 800 years ago, Roa, the serpent of Akasha and founder of the Burial Agency of the Holy Church, lured Arcueid into drinking his blood, completing his method of infinite reincarnation. This resulted in Arcueid's mental collapse and caused her to kill all of the True Ancestors who created her. To suppress her blood-sucking impulses, she had to use more than 70% of her power, but even then, she remained one of the powerhouses in the Nasuverse.

Since then, whenever Roa reincarnates, Arcueid appears and directly accesses information from Gaia to chase and kill the reincarnated Roa.

But the problem was...

"Arcueid, you've got it wrong. I'm not Roa." Shirou spoke up, trying to make himself heard over Arcueid's accusations.

"Don't try to deceive me!" she retorted, fixing her gaze on Shirou as she materialized a sword. "You used that same lie during the twelfth reincarnation!" Without further warning, she lunged forward to attack.

Shirou projected a shield to block the attack and let out a sigh. "Your heart is clouded by hatred,"

He knew that he couldn't face Arcueid head-on. If he still had the immense magical energy from the Fourth Holy Grail War, he might have tried, but with his current level of magical energy, he stood no chance against her.

Even with only 30% of her strength, Arcueid was a formidable opponent. And if she were to unleash her full vampire capability, along with the support of Gaia, Shirou was guaranteed to lose.

Shirou had always believed in the philosophy of helping others to the best of his ability, passing on the flame he had received from the great hero and paving the way to freedom for those in need. But now, with Arcueid relentlessly pursuing him as the reincarnation of Roa, her eyes brimming with hatred and her power surpassing his own, he was left questioning how he could ever continue to uphold his beliefs.

No matter how noble one's thoughts or how powerful their language, they were powerless until they could subdue their opponent.

Shirou quickly transformed the mud behind him into a magical energy propulsion device, accelerating his flight.

"Don't even think of getting away!" Arcueid cried out as she manifested her own magical energy propulsion device and gave chase.

Shirou said nothing as he fixed his gaze on the pursuing Arcueid. He began to understand what Gilgamesh must have felt, facing an opponent who was a master of imitation with abilities far surpassing his own.

The opponent was a Queen of plagiarism, a counterfeiter beyond compare!

He chose not to engage in a confrontation with Arcueid and instead made a beeline for Ryuudou Temple. Without a word, he burst into the room where the Enlightened One was meditating and took refuge behind him, grabbing the master with both hands and using him as a shield.

To handle such a powerhouse, he would have to use a powerhouse of his own.

Ryuudou Issei, who was writing homework beside the master, looked up in surprise as Shirou took cover. "Shirou, what's going on...?"

"Nothing, just keep writing your homework,"

"Oh." Issei went back to his homework.

Shirou peered out into the world and saw Arcueid slowly walking towards him, emanating killing intent. The Buddhist monks at Ryuudou Temple glanced up briefly before lowering their heads to resume their sweeping.

"Come out, Roa!" Arcueid glared at Shirou.

She's truly the white princess. Despite her heart overflowing with hatred and anger, she didn't harm the innocent.

Shirou peered out from behind the Enlightened One, his voice filled with hopelessness. "You've got the wrong person, I'm not the reincarnation of Roa..."

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before Arcueid shot a blood-red beam of cold light at him. Shirou quickly dodged back behind the master.

A warm golden light emanated from the master's body, effortlessly dissolving Arcueid's blood claws.

Shirou let out a sigh of relief. The fact that the master was continuing his meditation, unaware of and uninterested in what was happening around him, only made him more admirable. There was nothing better than using this lazy, carefree monk as a shield.

Shirou stepped out from behind the Enlightened One and pointed at him, saying, "Take a good look, Arcueid. I'm not Roa, he is!"

...

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