Chapter 160: The Truth of Divine Power and the Creator God? The Goddess of Justice Declares War on Shirou!
"It seems this is the truth behind the Juggernaut experiment." Shirou summarized all the collected data and intelligence, then slowly spoke to Ryuu beside him: "Let's leave this place first. The information we've gathered is enough to negotiate with the Goddess Astraea."
"This… but what about Alise and the others…"
Ryuu's expression showed anxiety. She clearly wanted to save the souls of the Astraea Familia members, to free them from the bodies of the monsters.
Shirou calmly replied: "We can't do that right now. Liberating the souls that have already been fused—even Thanatos, who is skilled in manipulating souls, might not be able to do it. If we want to save their souls, the only way is to negotiate with the celestial god Ouranos, obtain all the experimental data, and perhaps Thanatos could perform a reverse operation to separate the souls."
During his time working with Thanatos, Shirou had gained some understanding of soul manipulation, which allowed him to make a precise judgment quickly and convince Ryuu to leave with him.
Although Ryuu was still somewhat reluctant, she ultimately nodded in agreement.
However, just as she was about to follow Shirou, she noticed the man beside her suddenly stop in his tracks, his expression turning horrified as he looked toward the laboratory door.
"Clack. Clack."
Footsteps echoed slowly.
A red-haired male god appeared before them. He seemed already aware of intruders but showed no panic, walking deliberately into the laboratory.
"Heh heh, I didn't expect intruders to actually come in. How interesting—extremely interesting." The male god smiled at Shirou and Ryuu, his expression filled with amusement. "When Ouranos told me that Juggernaut in the dungeon was eliminated, I guessed this place might be invaded, but I didn't expect the intruders to act this fast."
"Are you Rudra?"
"That's right." Rudra smiled in response to Shirou. "I also know who you are—Sword Demon Shirou Emiya, the mortal who caused such chaos in all of Orario recently. And next to you, isn't that Gale Ryuu? Heh heh, so you're no longer just satisfying yourself by killing my Familia's members?"
"Rudra…"
Ryuu felt genuine anger at the god's mockery.
Yet she did not dare to strike a god directly, feeling a natural fear toward beings beyond human comprehension.
Shirou stepped forward to confront Rudra in her place.
"Since you're here, are you trying to stop us from leaving?" Shirou looked at the god before him. Not knowing Rudra's exact powers, he instinctively assumed a hostile stance.
"You're overthinking. I'm not like Miach—I have no intention of dying here." Rudra raised both hands in surrender. "You should know, my situation is similar to Ikelos. Although we cooperate with Ouranos, we aren't his subordinates—we're simply using each other. I have no intention of advancing Ouranos' plans…"
"So you intend to let us leave?"
"Yes. Going against a dangerous god-slayer like you… even if I defeated you, I would ultimately have to return to Tenkai. It wouldn't be worth it."
Shirou couldn't tell that Rudra was lying.
He truly did not appear to be a subordinate of Ouranos.
So Shirou asked further: "Was all of this created by Ouranos' faction? Were the Rudra Familia arranged to manage it all?"
"Rather than saying the Rudra Familia, it's more accurate to say me alone," Rudra laughed. "That guy Ouranos doesn't trust mortals. He won't reveal any plans to any mortal. So I alone guard this secret and maintain the Juggernaut experiment site."
"The order to destroy the Astraea Familia… was that issued by Ouranos? Did he tell the Rudra Familia how to summon Juggernaut?" Shirou asked.
"Yes," Rudra nodded. "The Astraea Familia's investigation was too deep. They were close to uncovering Ouranos' plan.
That was Ouranos' own mistake.
He thought that after the Zeus and Hera Familias fell, he could conduct experiments freely, but it exposed a flaw to the Astraea Familia enforcing justice in Orario.
To prevent them from discovering the truth, he decisively decided to use the Rudra Familia as sacrificial pawns to annihilate the Astraea Familia as well."
"Just for this… he destroyed the Astraea Familia?"
Ryuu's eyes widened, still unable to accept the truth.
Rudra smiled: "For Ouranos, all his objectives, ambitions, and hopes were contained in this. As one of the earliest gods of Genkai, he's been running divine power experiments for nearly three thousand years. Now he's about to see results. Do you think he would ever give up? Not
for a single Astraea Familia, nor even if it meant sacrificing the entire Labyrinth City—he wouldn't hesitate for a moment."
"…Bastard… bastard!"
Ryuu could only curse in grief at the god's coldness, unable to accept the despairing reality.
Shirou continued to look at Rudra: "Why did you assist Ouranos? Did he promise you anything in return?"
"Promise? Ah, I suppose you could call it that," Rudra laughed. "I'm an evil god, like Ikelos. What I yearn for is absolute chaos and madness. Assisting Ouranos' plan brings immense variables to this city—I naturally want to side with him."
"I see… so if we bring chaos to this city, you could stand with us?"
Shirou proposed a bold plan, trying to cooperate with an evil god.
"Wha…!"
Ryuu widened her eyes, surprised at such an outrageous suggestion.
Rudra paused for a moment upon hearing Shirou, then laughed heartily: "Hahaha, interesting! You're incredibly amusing! No wonder Ikelos and Thanatos are willing to cooperate with you. If you'd come to Orario a few years earlier, I might have been interested in you too."
"A few years earlier? Not now?"
"Yes. Now I'm bound to Ouranos. His plan is reaching its final stage. No one can stop it."
"Final stage…"
Everything was unfolding as Shirou had predicted.
Ouranos' faction had gone as far as injecting divine power into the dungeon, showing that the experiment to create divine power constructs was likely in its final phase—capable of creating true divine constructs at any moment.
Shirou realized he must accelerate his actions, uncover the entire truth, and disrupt Ouranos' plan.
"Are you sure you won't stop us?"
Before leaving with Ryuu, Shirou looked at Rudra.
"Good and evil must be balanced. If one side becomes too strong, chaos cannot occur," Rudra said with a smile. "So, I won't trouble you now. I still hope the city's chaos grows as much as possible."
"…"
The twisted mindset of a god made both Shirou and Ryuu frown.
Especially Ryuu. Her anger toward gods had already reached unimaginable levels. If Shirou were not there to calm her, she would likely have rushed to confront the god, even at the cost of her life.
Even risking her life, she could not bear the gods continuing to act as they pleased in Genkai.
Yet Ryuu regained her composure.
She knew the most important thing now was not to confront a neutral evil god like Rudra, but to recruit Goddess Astraea and regain the power of the Goddess of Justice.
After leaving the Rudra Familia, Shirou and Ryuu quickly returned to the streets of Orario.
They organized the materials they had collected underground.
Then Ryuu volunteered: "Let me take this information to see Lady Astraea! I will definitely convince her to join us!"
"…."
Shirou could not object to Ryuu's choice.
Although he felt an inexplicable unease, at this point, the only way to resolve the conflict with the Goddess Astraea peacefully was to let Ryuu act.
He agreed and allowed her to carry all the information into Babel Tower to meet the Goddess Astraea.
Shirou himself returned to the Evilus's base and reported everything he had witnessed in the Rudra Familia to Thanatos.
"Ouranos' research has really reached this stage?"
Thanatos' expression showed deep agitation after hearing the truth.
Shirou, puzzled, asked: "Does the Juggernaut experiment have any implications?"
"Why do you think Ouranos is creating constructs capable of holding divine power?" Thanatos asked.
"To create divine power constructs… so that gods can use divine power in Genkai?" Shirou hesitated, then spoke his previous deduction.
"Exactly. To achieve this, Ouranos spent thousands of years conducting experiments in Genkai, creating fairies, heretics, and even Juggernaut," Thanatos nodded silently. "But do you really think he did all this just to obtain a controllable divine power construct? Do you think Ouranos' plan is that simple?"
"Then… could it be that Ouranos doesn't just want divine constructs, but wants to manipulate divine power himself in Genkai?" Shirou asked hesitantly.
"That's inevitable. Ouranos' research has lasted thousands of years. It can't be just to create a divine power construct," Thanatos nodded. "But I think the matter is not that simple. Even allowing gods to use divine power in Genkai doesn't bring much advantage—especially for a celestial god."
"Then what exactly is Ouranos' goal?"
"I've told you before, Emiya, about gods descending into Genkai, right? Back then, I said Ouranos might come to Genkai to seize the power of the earth, but that was just a simplified explanation for your understanding—it didn't touch on the substance. Now, you already know a lot about Ouranos' plans, so I can tell you some more exaggerated speculations."
Thanatos' expression was serious. Then, suddenly, he raised a distant question: "Emiya, what do you think a god truly is?"
Shirou hesitated for a moment before answering: "A being of higher rank than mortals, born powerful, I suppose."
"Exactly. Gods are more powerful than mortals, but in essence, they are still merely living beings," Thanatos said quietly. "Although research on gods in this world is rare, I have been one of the few pursuing it. Even in Tenkai, I've been studying the origins of gods, contemplating the true source of this species. Eventually, I discovered that so-called gods may have split off from a true primordial being."
"Primordial?"
"To put it more concretely, you can understand it as the Creator or the God of Creation of the world," Thanatos analyzed slowly. "Every world is created by a true primordial. Tenkai is like this, Genkai as well. It's even possible that the two worlds share the same origin, though I have no evidence to confirm that.
In short, through my research, I found that most gods have a similar structure. Gods are like fragments split from a greater whole, naturally possessing something mortals never have—divine power. Gods become gods because of their innate ability to wield divine power."
"Then what about Genkai? After the Creator made Genkai, why didn't it split off gods there? Why can mortals in Genkai not use divine power at all?"
"Let's reverse our thinking. Actually, Genkai may represent the normal state of most worlds—the common form after a world is created. In contrast, Tenkai is an abnormal construct. The existence of gods itself is forbidden by natural law.
Then why were gods born? Why are there gods in Tenkai who wield divine power everywhere? Could it be possible that the gods slew the original Creator, killed the true God of Creation, and seized the power they were not meant to possess—divine power?
Finally, let's consider one more question. Why can't Genkai use divine power? Why is divine power restricted when gods come to Genkai?"
Thanatos spoke like a patient instructor, narrating his millennia of thoughts step by step: "According to my speculation, it's possible that the true Creator has not completely perished. The God of Creation never truly died but hid in Genkai.
To protect itself, it created this law.
Ouranos, for some reason, discovered the hidden Creator in Genkai. That's why he came here, trying to seize all the Creator's power. But because Genkai restricts divine power, it is extremely difficult, requiring a plan spanning thousands of years to achieve his ambition."
Thanatos' words were astonishing.
But even more astonishing was how reasonable his speculation was, as if revealing the truth itself.
The primordial Creator who made the upper and lower worlds, the gods who seized divine power from the Creator, and Ouranos, the celestial god who came to Genkai to obtain all of the Creator's power…
If all of this were true, Ouranos' creation of Juggernaut was far from merely producing a divine construct; there must be an even more crucial purpose.
And by creating Juggernaut, Ouranos was already dangerously close to achieving his true objective.
"Sure enough… there's no more time."
Shirou exhaled.
His conversation with Thanatos made him feel the approaching threat even more. The further Ouranos' plan progressed, the closer Genkai moved toward true catastrophe and apocalypse.
After all, Shirou could not believe in the goodwill of gods.
The destruction of Tenkai was a warning. If Ouranos completed his experiment, enabling the use of divine power in Genkai, Genkai would inevitably become a plaything of gods, subjected to unilateral deprivation of freedom.
To prevent this, Shirou had to make more plans and preparations, without the slightest hesitation or reservation.
Of course, before that, he still needed to wait for news from Ryuu.
If Ryuu could recruit Goddess Astraea to his side, the subsequent plans would have a much higher chance of success.
Conversely, if Ryuu failed, Shirou might not have time to maneuver against Ouranos' plan. He would instead face a threat directly from the Goddess of Justice.
Waiting was always long.
While Shirou devoted himself entirely to countering Ouranos, focusing on forging various treasures and searching for tools to combat a celestial god, news quickly reached him, sharpening his gaze to a blade-like coldness.
First, Ryuu's mission failed.
Although Ryuu successfully infiltrated Babel Tower and met Goddess Astraea, she failed to persuade her.
Not only that, Goddess Astraea judged Ryuu guilty of "numerous crimes" and imprisoned her.
This news caused an uproar throughout Orario.
After all, the "crimes of Gale Ryuu" had always had multiple interpretations among the people.
The most widely accepted view was that Ryuu's actions were all for justice, and all killings targeted Evilus.
Thus, Ryuu had always been seen as a partner of justice, never as a true criminal.
But now, with Goddess Astraea's return and public judgment of Ryuu, everything naturally changed.
The citizens of Orario had unconditional trust in Goddess Astraea.
They firmly believed that the goddess possessed absolute justice, and whatever she said was indisputable truth.
Consequently, Ryuu's reputation plummeted to rock bottom, now seen as a true criminal.
Shirou, though helpless, had anticipated this. Since Ouranos intended to bring back Goddess Astraea, he must have a way to control her; otherwise, he wouldn't take such an action.
Ryuu's chance of persuasion had always been roughly fifty-fifty, or even lower. Her failure was not entirely unexpected.
At least Shirou did not believe Goddess Astraea would harm Ryuu. If she truly embodied justice, she would not hurt Ryuu, allowing Shirou to let Ryuu take action with relative peace of mind.
However, Ryuu's failure meant that Shirou's opposition to Goddess Astraea was now inevitable.
And, as if to confirm Shirou's expectation, new news from Babel Tower followed quickly.
First, Goddess Astraea struck again, forcibly taking the Ishtar and Kali Familias in Orario—grey-area Familias, not part of Evilus.
Even the gods Ishtar and Kali were restrained, their personal freedom restricted by Babel Tower's authority.
Ordinary people might not understand her purpose, but Shirou could. Astraea was clearly targeting him.
Ishtar and Kali were gods connected to him—essentially on his side. Their detention was tantamount to taking hostages.
And indeed, after capturing the two gods, Astraea stood atop Babel Tower, broadcasting a decree to all of Orario:
"Evilus current leader, Sword Demon Shirou Emiya, if you do not want unnecessary human or divine sacrifices, come to Babel Tower to face my judgment. This is your only choice. Otherwise, under my judgment sword, more innocent lives may be claimed."
Astraea's words almost entirely eliminated Shirou's retreat options.
She not only exposed his true identity but openly demanded his presence at Babel Tower for judgment.
This blatant threat hit Shirou squarely. He had almost nowhere to turn.
"The Goddess of Justice, Astraea… fate, or destiny, I've long had a premonition that I would face you as an enemy."
Shirou muttered to himself, a faint smile curling his lips.
At his waist, Agaris emitted a slight pulse, and the image of Aliseappeared.
"Emiya, there may be hidden circumstances regarding Goddess Astraea. Normally, she wouldn't act this way."
"I know."
Shirou nodded in understanding. "But I also know that this is a battle I cannot avoid. Even if it's a trap, I must go through it! Let me witness the power of the Goddess of Justice!"
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