C103

The intense light made it difficult for people to see what was inside, but it was dazzling enough to evoke thoughts of all things beautiful - hope, and the path to life.

Pointing to the path he had opened up, Shirou shouted, "The path to freedom is here! Move forward and help each other. Support one another, and keep moving! The light is waiting on the other side!"

The people looked around, confused and unsure of where to go. They couldn't discern the direction of the path. Then, Mrs. Fujimaru raised her hand and shouted, "I see it! The path is right here!"

The adults scooped up the children and followed Mrs. Fujimaru, running towards the path opened up by Shirou.

When Shirou had walked down the path earlier, he had left trails of mud behind him. Now, that same mud - which had kept the trees of the Forest of Einnashe at bay - emitted a bright light, creating a path of radiance.

People ran, tears of joy streaming down their faces as they held onto hope in their hearts. They knew that the long-awaited light had finally come.

Mrs. Fujimaru, the leader, turned her head and gazed up at Shirou, who stood tall in the sky like an angel of light, with a solemn expression on his face. She had never expected her child to possess such mysterious power, nor did she ever consider that he might be the rumored savior of light.

She could only think of the heavy burden on her small child's shoulders - a burden that represented both the despair and hope of life. A heavy burden, one that even adults and heroes couldn't bear, was carried by a child.

"No way! You can't take my food!" screamed a voice from within the crazed Forest of Einnashe. The trees seemed to come alive, their branches reaching out toward Shirou and the fleeing people.

Shirou's eight arms spun into action, his giant sword slashing at the branches that came too close. The mud around him also sprang to life, their luminous hands breaking every branch with a sharp snap.

He landed near the remnant of mud tide and reached out to touch it, tapping into its dark power.

"Please lend me your strength," he implored.

"If you can make use of it, take it," the great evil thoughts spoke before falling silent.

Drawing upon his own malevolent energy, Shirou reached out and formed a link with the mud tide. In a sudden onslaught, the massive evil thoughts within the mud tide attacked his mind.

"Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate..."

"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill..."

"Die, die, die... let everyone die!"

...

This overwhelming malevolence was of an entirely different nature from All the World's Evil. A massive force of hate and destruction intertwined into a single intention, surging past the defenses of All the World's Evil and slamming into Shirou's heart like a colossal hammer.

"It's like a burning flame of passionate intensity," Shirou remarked.

"A burning flame of passion? You misunderstand," the malevolent thoughts retorted. "This is not passion, but rather my deep-seated hatred and repulsive evil."

"What are you saying? Are you denying yourself? Your hatred and malevolence are rooted in a deep-seated love, aren't they? Even someone like me, who's only just met you, can sense it easily. So why deny yourself this profound emotion?" Shirou argued.

"What... what are you talking about?"

"If we get the chance, we can talk about your story. I'll listen carefully to your profound love," Shirou promised. "But for now, I need your strength."

The malevolent thoughts fell silent.

Drawing upon his own black mud, Shirou commandeered the mud tide and launched an attack on the Forest of Einnashe.

However, he could not absorb the evil of the forest. It was not a human being, but a creature whose actions couldn't be judged by human standards of evil. Its so-called evil was simply its instinct to hunt.

"Help... help me!" a panicked voice cried out.

Shirou heard frantic cries for help and looked over to see the Forest of Einnashe's countless branches taking advantage of the situation to extend into the Radiant Path, snatching up a few helpless children.

Taking control of the mud tide, Shirou shaped it into a blade of mud and began slicing off the branches one by one. Then, spreading his wings, he soared over to catch the terrified children as they fell.

"Savior of the Light! Savior of the Light!" the people shouted with fervor, their hearts brimming with hope and joy.

"I... the Edelfelt family will reward you," one of the children, Luvia, stammered. Despite her paleness, she retained her noble composure and spoke with dignity.

Shirou simply replied, "Your safety is the greatest reward for me."

Luvia was stunned. "Are you... Fujimaru Shirou?" she asked in disbelief.

"It's Shirou," Shirou confirmed, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.

Gently, he put the children back on the ground and then flew up again, ready to face the next challenge. With a wave of his hand, he directed the mud tide to rush into the Radiant Path twice, strengthening the defense against any further attacks from the Forest of Einnashe.

Turning around to face most of the forest's attacks, Shirou took a deep breath and braced himself for the onslaught.

As the people reached the end of the path, their faces turned pale as they looked down at the dizzying height of three thousand feet above the ground. Unsure of what to do, they huddled together, seeking comfort in each other's presence.

It was then that Arcueid flew over, manifesting a giant bird that glided gracefully through the air. "Come on, I'll take you down," she called out to the frightened people.

Seeing her with her golden hair and white wings, the people thought she was an angel, a companion of the Savior of the Light. Grateful and relieved, they took their children and hurried towards the big bird, eager to escape the danger of the Forest of Einnashe.

Mrs. Fujimaru's gaze fell upon Shirou, who was battling the Forest of Einnashe with a heavy heart and hesitance.

Tohsaka Aoi reached out to her and said, "Let's go, Mrs. Fujimaru. Please trust him, for he is the Savior of the Light."

"I feel heavy-hearted precisely because he's the Savior of the Light," Mrs. Fujimaru trailed off, her heart aching at the thought of her child. After all, he was just a boy, and knowing that he carried such a heavy burden at such a young age only added to her sadness.

Aoi pulled Mrs. Fujimaru onto the back of the giant bird.

Sakura clasped her hands in front of her chest and prayed silently, 'Brother, you are a great hero, so you will definitely succeed.'

Driving the giant bird, Arcueid turned her head to look at Shirou, who was battling the Forest of Einnashe with a complicated expression. He protects, guards, and saves people. How could Roa of this era have changed his nature? She lacked an answer, but she commanded the bird to bring everyone to safety on the ground.

After ensuring the others' safety, Shirou willed the mud to pry apart Forest's branches and soared out of the floating island. The Forest's never-ending branches reached for him, and black hands sprouted on the Mud Giant's arm that supported the island, grasping and consuming the branches one by one.

Upon exiting the floating island, Shirou went inside the sixty-meter-tall mud giant and hacked with full force. His hand brimmed with infinite evil, stretching out into an extremely thin line of over ten thousand meters, slicing through the air like a blade toward the floating island.

"Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble...!"

The boundless evil in Shirou's grip engulfed the Forest of Einnashe's Reality Marble, slicing through the floating island in half and cleaving a path across the ocean. He had unleashed the same technique he employed months ago to slash through Gilgamesh's Vimana from the seabed. This attack embodied his ultimate evil and bore the name -

Heaven's Edge!

"Mon... monster!"

On the ground, the Executors and local exorcist families of Japan gasped in awe and horror. The sight was too shocking and dreadful

A sword that cleaved the floating island in two and a sword that rent the ocean for ten thousand meters.

This was the Heaven's Edge!

Shirou was on the brink of destroying the Forest of Einnashe and the floating island when his body suddenly jerked.

"----!!!"

Sensing something, he whipped his head around to look toward Mount Enzou in the Miyama region.

Like Shirou, Arcueid, magi, executors, and exorcist families all turned their heads towards the outskirts of Miyama town, feeling an indescribable chill.

Mighty magical energy erupted from Mount Enzou and shot straight into the sky.

"The...the Holy Grail!" Shirou was greatly shocked. There was no mistaking it, this magical energy was coming from the Holy Grail!

But the Holy Grail War had already come to an end. Shirou had successfully taken the Crystal and handed it over to Illya and her group. The Mage's Association and the Church had sealed the Holy Grail ritual system, which meant it should not be able to activate again.

However, the magical energy in the air was unmistakably the Holy Grail's. Shirou could sense it, having been exposed to its power before. The same source that had given birth to the evil within him.

A crackling sound filled the air as Mount Enzou's magical energy surged out and shot straight up into the sky, tearing a massive hole through the fabric of the sky that led straight to the Void!

...

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