Chapter 224: Sesshouin's Retreat and an Unexpected Enemy?!
"Senpai…"
Sakura suddenly sensed something. She looked up toward the MoonCell core, which was emitting a strange glow.
The cherry blossom-colored staircase connecting to the core had long disappeared.
"What are you doing? If you don't stay focused, that woman will take advantage of the opening."
In BB's pupils, numbers were constantly flashing—she was using the remaining administrator privileges to the limit to counter Sesshouin Kiara's fusion speed.
Though she didn't say anything out loud, the way she bit her lip clearly showed—
The situation was extremely unfavorable.
At the current rate, she could hold on for no more than five minutes. After that, that woman would completely fuse with MoonCell.
At that point, whether it be this world or the ancient MoonCell, all would become sacrificial offerings.
And in the end, a fully awakened Beast III would be born from it.
"Just thinking about how I got used by someone else is enough to make BB-chan explode with rage!!!"
BB continued to accelerate her calculations, trying to buy a little more time.
"Hmph, I didn't expect things to end up like this."
Tohsaka Rin walked out of the cabin with her arms crossed.
"Clearly you're not the final boss, right? So why do you look like an ally now? Don't tell me you're that kind of character? The type of villain who, after being defeated, switches sides and loses 90% of their power?"
"I don't have time to argue with you. If it weren't for Sakura's kindness, you all would've been blown to pieces already, got it?"
BB said bluntly without any courtesy.
"I can fly, you know. It just takes a bit of time to prepare!"
Elizabeth followed right behind and stepped out.
Earlier, Tohsaka Rin and Elizabeth had fallen. Unlike Ethan, they climbed back up on their own strength.
Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, Ethan and the others had already left.
The entrance to the Labyrinth—the fragile staircase—had completely collapsed.
"Just a lizard, yet the only advantage it has is being able to fly, huh."
"What did you say?!"
Elizabeth immediately showed displeasure at BB's remark.
"If it weren't for your little stunt with Lancer's spear piercing that weird teacher, things wouldn't be such a mess right now, would they?!"
Tohsaka Rin voiced her dissatisfaction.
"If you people had been just a little useful, that woman's plan wouldn't have gone off so easily!"
"What did you say?!"
In an instant, BB, Tohsaka Rin, and Elizabeth began arguing fiercely. None of them would back down, and the atmosphere grew as tense as a drawn bowstring.
"Ladies, sorry to interrupt."
Suddenly, Andersen's voice rang out from behind.
"I don't think this is the time for arguments. In an apocalyptic situation like this, humans and AIs still have the luxury to bicker… if this is the kind of species humanity is, maybe it's better they all get wiped out."
"I remember you… you're the Caster summoned by MoonCell, right?"
Sakura immediately recognized Andersen.
"So you recognized me, huh? That means the cursed bond I had with that woman was preserved in the system too, wasn't it? Seriously, shit like this 'black history' is enough to ruin someone's life, you know."
Andersen shook his head, his eyes simultaneously turning toward the MoonCell core—floating in the sky, emanating an incomprehensible presence.
"Never thought she'd try to become divine again. Even as just a Digital Ghost, she's still desperately trying to destroy the world. With determination that far exceeds normal standards, even ascetic monks would feel ashamed in comparison."
"Senpai… I hope you're safe…"
Sakura murmured softly.
Perhaps due to BB's influence, Sakura—originally an emotionless AI—had now gradually begun to develop emotions like a real human.
She was an early-stage AI created by MoonCell after observing and calculating the actions of Sesshouin Kiara, while also being modeled after a copy of BB as a reference support.
No one expected Sesshouin Kiara to exploit BB, exploiting a loophole in MoonCell's system, turning the situation into what it was now.
Suddenly, the MoonCell core above their heads began surging with a massive amount of energy, the waves of energy it emitted shaking the entire surrounding space violently?!
Directly affected, Sakura's mind became dizzy. As she tried to endure the pain to check on BB's condition—
What entered her vision was BB, completely powered down, collapsed on the ground!!!
"BB——————?!"
If BB collapsed at this moment, the situation inside would be beyond recovery!
Holding her forehead, Sakura reached out to touch BB, trying to inherit the authority she left behind...
"Ugh——————!!!"
Sakura's hair began turning snow white from root to tip, her body collapsed to the ground, and her consciousness began to fade.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?! Wake up, get a hold of yourself!!!"
Tohsaka Rin's worried voice echoed continuously in Sakura's ears.
But all she could feel was that the links within her body were being severed one after another. MoonCell's condition was dangerously critical?!
Why???
What on earth had happened inside???
"Senpai... please... hurry... leave that place..."
After softly uttering that sentence—
Sakura and BB both collapsed.
Losing consciousness...
...
"Ah, even if I am hated, it still brings me a sense of exhilaration. No matter what it is, I will accept it completely."
Faced with a raging assault like a storm, Sesshouin Kiara still wore a smile on her face, sitting composedly atop a lotus platform formed from human souls.
Just as she said, when the attack containing the full power of all the Servants present reached her, everything suddenly stopped.
Not because it was blocked by something, nor because it was neutralized.
But—stopped.
In Sesshouin's Womb Mandala, time—had come to a halt.
Sesshouin Kiara slowly stepped down from the lotus platform.
"Fufufu... If the universe can be created by me, then of course it can also be stopped by me."
She leisurely moved aside from the enormous surge of chaotic energy flying toward her.
Then walked closer to the crowd of Servants.
"If you're asking why, it's because I am the god of this universe, so of course I'm allowed to be a little willful."
Until the very last second, they were still fighting with everything they had. On every face was an expression of total commitment.
Sesshouin Kiara's slender, white fingers gently brushed past the frozen figures.
Eventually, her gaze landed on Ethan's face, and her body came to a stop before him.
"Ah... how heartbreaking. This passionate soul, willing to do anything to save the world."
She deliberately circled around Mash, who was desperately holding her shield up in front of Ethan, and slowly approached him.
Sesshouin Kiara placed her hand on Ethan's cheek, gently caressing his face.
"If I could mold this kind of soul into the form of my yearning for love—ah~, just the thought of it is already too much for me to bear..."
With just the slightest pressure from her fingertip—Ethan would die instantly.
This world, now, no longer had anyone who could stop her.
And yet, as the "Beast of Pleasure," Sesshouin Kiara had been born a pursuer of pleasure.
Rather than killing Ethan, she much preferred dragging his soul into the whirlpool of ecstasy.
Just like that foolish Demon God Pillar who didn't know its place.
It was precisely because she had used its power to alter part of BB's cognition that her plan had progressed so smoothly.
Right to the bitter end, that Demon God Pillar, abandoned and left to rot in the scrapyard, even as its body decayed and fell apart, continued to love her—continued to yearn for pleasure.
It was a delightful toy.
And this time, she intended to once again savor that same pleasure from the body of this boy.
Just as her hand trailed down from Ethan's cheek to his neck, ready to continue downward, to fully possess him and absorb the rest—
A golden shadow, whose arrival had gone unnoticed, suddenly appeared nearby.
"Do whatever else you want—I won't stop you. But this boy—him, I can't let you have."
"Ara... I didn't expect a guest to show up."
Sesshouin Kiara maintained her position, still gently caressing Ethan's face, her expression completely unshaken.
"Don't make me repeat myself. To my eyes, you're nothing more than a fledgling chick that's just broken out of its shell. If you don't learn to please me, I'm afraid you'll turn to ashes in an instant."
The strange golden shadow began to swell, expanding without end.
"What an unexpectedly distinguished guest."
Sesshouin Kiara studied the vague figure.
Rather than saying it was unclear—perhaps it was more accurate to say it was too dazzling to see?!
"What if I say—I absolutely will not hand over this boy to you?"
Sesshouin Kiara slightly tilted her head upward.
"I had thought this would be a spectacular performance, yet in the end, it's become a farce. Honestly... I had just awakened, hoping to enjoy a brilliant show, and yet after all this time, humanity still doesn't even know how to grovel properly."
At that moment, Sesshouin Kiara suddenly realized something.
Through the knowledge of MoonCell, which was now almost entirely under her control, she finally grasped the true nature of the being standing before her.
"You are——!!!"
But before she could finish the sentence, the golden shadow gently blew in her direction—
"Fuuu..."
A terrifying force immediately sent Sesshouin Kiara flying backward?!
And in the very next second, time—began to flow once more.
Magical rays fired from the seven heads of the Phantasmal Beast, along with countless other Noble Phantasms, instantly converged—
Forming a magical bombardment that was utterly impossible to defend against!!!
"BOOOOM——————————!!!"
In the very next moment, Sesshouin Kiara—completely caught off guard—was hit square in the chest.
"Ugh..."
Completely unprepared for this, Sesshouin Kiara took the full brunt of the blow, and her Reality Marble immediately collapsed from the impact.
Ethan and everyone around him reappeared once again in the middle of the Digital Ocean.
"Ah... a... what... what's happening? What is this... what's going on...?"
Sesshouin Kiara collapsed to the ground.
The lotus flowers blooming around her withered one after another.
"If this is the judgment that boy has passed upon me, then whether in victory or defeat, I should be feeling the ultimate pleasure... And yet why... why is it ending like this... why..."
Her gaze fixed on Ethan, full of unwillingness.
"I clearly... had no doubt... I ascended to the throne of godhood... I don't want it to end like this..."
Sesshouin Kiara's voice was filled with helplessness.
As if restrained by some overwhelming power, her body began to slowly dissolve, while her mouth muttered final, delirious words.
"Ah... how dull... what a dreadfully boring end..."
In just a fleeting moment, Sesshouin Kiara's body gradually disintegrated, and in the end, once more turned into emotionless data particles and vanished.
"Senpai, the target has been confirmed completely vanished!"
Mash stared ahead in astonishment, still seemingly unable to believe this outcome.
"Even though I don't know what just happened, it looks like it's over!"
Mordred relaxed and released Clarent from her grip.
"Tch, letting her die that easily still pisses me off."
"Well, this time Beast III/R was only in its larval form—nowhere near as hard to deal with as its mature form from before."
Noah spoke casually, even making a joke to Draco in the process.
Unexpectedly, that joke made Draco rather proud.
"Hmph, now that's more like it. After all, those words came from you—the so-called Grand Rider—so they carry a bit of weight. But even without you, trash like that could never compare to me!!!"
"So this is the end…?"
Ethan still seemed unsure.
After all, this was Sesshouin—the one who had orchestrated the infiltration of this world through MoonCell. Could she really have vanished that easily?
"Beast III/R has been confirmed eliminated. Great work, everyone—Ethan, Mash, and all Servants!!!"
Dr. Romani's emotional voice came through the communication bracelet.
"The mission to eliminate Beast III is complete! Target successfully defeated!!!"
"So next we just need to retrieve the Holy Grail, right?"
Mash immediately checked with Dr. Romani.
"But wait… did this incident have anything to do with the Holy Grail???"
"That part is still unclear… But we can try contacting BB on the outside. However, there's something strange…"
"What is it, Doctor?"
Ethan asked immediately.
"Oh, it's nothing major. It's just—that we haven't been able to get in touch with BB or Sakura at all. It seems the signal has been completely jammed by something. All communications are restricted to this area."
"Then… how do we get out?"
Mash voiced the concern on everyone's mind.
Sesshouin Kiara had disappeared, and the gateway they arrived through was no longer there. There was no way to return!!!
"Maybe Noah can try using Noah's Ark?"
"Summoning Noah's Ark in such an unstable space could cause an accident!"
Noah quickly refused.
"If that's the case, how about letting me guide you out?"
No one knew when, but Tamamo no Mae had suddenly appeared and politely offered.
"Tamamo-san? You have a way?!"
Mash didn't know where Tamamo no Mae had been hiding this whole time, but now wasn't the time to ask about that.
"But of course~! My Noble Phantasm can connect two worlds. A little Digital Ocean like this is nothing at all..."
Before Tamamo no Mae could finish speaking—
Ethan was already staring intently at her, his gaze calm yet piercing, and asked bluntly:
"Who are you?"
"Huh, Master, what are you saying?! Aren't I your adorable Tamamo-chan, the one you like the most~?!"
"I'll ask you again. Who. Are. You?"
Ethan's expression—didn't look like he was joking.