C423

A pitch-black thunder rumbled through the twisted void, its relentless "thump thump thump" suddenly silenced. It was as though a monstrous entity tearing through the sky had been frozen in its tracks.

And then, in the next moment...

From the torn fabric of the sky, emerged an immense crimson form.

A deep, blood-red hue... 

Eye!

Fear and terror gripped everyone.

An indescribable dread took hold of everyone present.

Even Young Shirou felt it too, the fear!

What was this sensation? It was as though someone from beyond had pierced through the box and was using the gap to peer at those within. A feeling of unease, a fear from a higher-dimensional being!

"W-What... what exactly is that?" Chloe couldn't help but step back a few paces.

"Hahahaha!"

Beatrice erupted in manic laughter, her voice echoing madly. "It's a force of total annihilation! We asked you to return Miyu to us, but you refused! Hahaha! Now it's too late – we're all headed for damnation together! Not that it makes a difference since I'm already in hell. Hahaha!"

Shirou ignored her; his attention was on Angelica.

She explained, "It's something we wanted to destroy by using Miyu."

"Use me to destroy something like that?" Miyu took a step back, her face filled with bewilderment.

Illya gently patted Miyu's shoulder. When she turned to look, she saw Illya's face, a mix of concern and determination. Miyu pressed her lips together.

He asked, "Can something like this be resolved with the Holy Grail?"

She met his gaze, then shook her head. "It might have been possible before, but now it's too late; that thing has already broken loose."

"Ultimately, what is that thing? Does it have a connection to Pandora's Box?"

Though taken aback by his knowledge of Pandora's Box, she nodded, "Yes, it does."

He furrowed his brow. Could something from Pandora's Box wield such horrifying power?

Confronting it felt different from facing "All the World's Evils" or the "Vampiric Evils." Instead, it feels like encountering a being from a higher dimension.

He felt like someone inside the box, while that thing was something from outside the box.

"It moved... It actually moved!" Gray pointed her finger towards the colossal eye appearing in the distant rift of the sky.

Shirou looked upward, his gaze locked on the gigantic eye that stared through the torn fabric of the sky, as if searching for something here.

Searching for what...?

In that moment, the colossal eye came to a sudden stop.

And its gaze locked onto him!

What was this sensation? A shiver coursed through his body, akin to a sheep targeted by a shepherd—the unsettling feeling of being watched.

The colossal eye remained locked on him. Then, accompanied by the eerie rhythm of "thump, thump, thump," the sky emitted a dreadfully heavy sound. It was as if the entity from the higher dimension was relentlessly bashing against the boundaries of the sky, attempting to breach them completely and manifest in this world!

"Crack, crack, crack—"

The sky around the colossal eye cracked, leaking colorful energy.

Drawing magical energy, Shirou channeled it into the Tower of Light. With a resounding roar, a symphony of thunder and light surged forth toward the immense eye.

Yet, in that moment, seven massive arms erupted from the sky, converging to obstruct the light beam emanating from the Tower of Light.

"Think you can stop a second tower?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. Then he said, "Gray, pass me your weapon."

"Ah... right away!" Gray was briefly taken aback before hastily tossing Add to him.

He caught it, his gaze momentarily dipping to the object in his palm. "I need the holy lance."

"Y-Yes—, my king!" Add yelled.

Add: "Pseudo-personality suspended. Mana yield exceeds regulation. Initiating release of third-stage restriction..."

Add: "Seal Thirteen. Decision, start."

An immense round table materialized, followed by the emergence of thirteen ethereal figures.

"This sensation..." Artoria sensed the summons of the round table and linked her consciousness to it.

Artoria: "This is a battle to save the world. Approved!"

Gawain: "This is a battle for survival. Approved!"

"This is a battle against..."

Shirou arched an eyebrow and shouted, "Enough with the blathering! All of you, get lost! I'm here. Do you really think I need your permission!?"

"This resolve..."

"No way..."

"Unbelievable... to think the spear of the end returned to the King... I agree!"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!"

...

Following his scolding, almost instantly, the constraints within Add, which had been suppressing the true form of Rhongomyniad, were released!

With a "whoosh," Add underwent a transformation, becoming a Tower of Light that stood proudly upon the surface of the sea.

Artoria's consciousness returned to her physical form, and as she regarded Shirou, she silently thought, "The inexperienced me leans on the Round Table, whereas the King relies on his own strength."

"Add... can also manifest as a Tower of Light..." Gray observed the tower manifested by Add, her words a quiet murmur. In truth, compared to the true owner, she was merely a keeper.

Rising proudly from the endless sea, the Tower of Light stood tall, its form a testament to both grandeur and purpose. Its towering light cast a radiant glow that illuminated the surrounding expanse of water, creating an enchanting interplay of light and shadow. Amidst this luminous display, the tower's essence resonated with a deep, resounding thunder that echoed across the horizon, carrying an undeniable sense of power.

This powerful convergence of light surged toward the colossal eye that fractured the very fabric of the sky itself.

"Splash, splash—"

The sea water surged and white mist billowed, enveloping the surroundings in a misty veil.

The combined radiance from the two Towers of Light pierced through the seven colossal arms stretching across the sky easily and surged through the rift in the sky before striking the massive crimson eye.

"A roar, a rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!"

A tremendous explosion echoed like distant thunder, and both the heavens and the earth quivered, as if shaken to their very core.

Shirou stared at the rift in the sky where the colossal eye had vanished.

"Have we succeeded?" someone asked.

He didn't say a word, his eyes locked on the sky.

And then, in the next moment—

The sky ruptured again, birthing dozens of colossal arms.

And within the tear in the sky, that massive eye reappeared.

A heavy sensation settled within his heart.

It didn't work!

"I've found you."

"At long last, I've found you."

"My vessel..."

The sound, the echoing voice in his mind grew louder and louder as the gigantic eye started to emit a thick malevolent terror.

For a moment, Shirou was immobilized by dread.

He understood. 

He finally understood.

Though he couldn't fully understand the real nature of this thing or what it truly was, one thing was clear—this thing was coming for him!

Its target—was him!

"This is not good... to think it would escalate into this kind of situation..."

Gil turned his head slightly, glancing at Shirou, his face streaked with cold sweat. "We're in trouble... if that guy gets eaten, things are going to get messy! That kind of thing shouldn't be allowed to come into existence..."

The sky sped up its process of tearing apart, and seventeen more massive arms sprouted across the sky.

Gritting his teeth, Shirou activated the two Towers of Light and unleashed a barrage of starlight from them onto the arms.

Wherever the starlight from the Towers made contact, all the colossal arms in the sky were obliterated.

However, his magical energy was rapidly draining, already dropping to a B rank level, and it was dissipating even faster with each use.

"Thump, thump, thump—!"

The deafening banging in the sky grew even more frenzied.

It was as if the entity had finally found its target and was now making a desperate attempt to breach the boundary of the sky.

And with a resounding "boom," the tear in the sky shattered. 

The breach expanded, now stretching to about two hundred meters in diameter!

When compared to the hole leading to the Root created by the Wallacia Night nine years ago, this rupture was even bigger!

A massive dragon head emerged from the swirling, chaotic breach.

Immensely gigantic, the dragon's head alone surpassed the size of the Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna!

On the dragon's neck, chaotic humanoid shapes appeared one after another, howling and screeching, with dark lightning flickering around them like creatures consumed by despair.

"Vessel... vessel..."