Chapter 166: Divine Fire Tempering the Unlimited Blade Works, the Judgment Sword Envelops Orario!
The execution ground directly in front of Babel Tower.
As the time of execution drew near, more and more people gathered here. The intense, oppressive atmosphere seemed as if it would swallow everything around it.
"Today is the day of Judgment for Gale…"
"Are they really going to kill Miss Ryuu? She's clearly not a villain…"
"Back when my daughter was kidnapped by villains, it was Miss Ryuu who rescued her."
"The ones she killed from Evilus were all utterly evil people."
Although most of Orario's citizens initially supported the justice of the goddess Astraea when they learned that she had decreed the execution of Gale Ryuu, as the moment approached, voices of dissent began to emerge.
Those dissenting were mostly people who had once been helped by the Astraea Familia or Ryuu herself.
In their hearts, they still remembered the kindness and help given to them and could not accept the idea that Ryuu was to be executed by the goddess of justice herself.
Incited by a certain god holding the script, they gathered at the execution plaza.
While this could not influence the execution itself, it openly displayed their emotions, an attempt to shake the very occurrence of the execution.
However, the chaos did not persist.
With the arrival of the goddess overseeing the execution, the entire site fell silent.
The goddess of justice, Astraea, with long brown hair embodying serene beauty, slowly appeared before the crowd and stood alone atop a high platform.
Beside Astraea, the beautiful goddess Freya, responsible for the protective duties of this execution, also silently appeared. Along with her came numerous members of the Freya Familia.
The Freya Familia, led by Ottar, was a powerful force within Orario, rivaling even the Loki Familia, enough to intimidate all petty criminals.
At least, the tavern maids of the Hostess of Fertility, who had originally planned to stage a rescue at the execution, now froze in hesitation upon seeing these Freya Familia members.
What made Anya and the other maids most anxious was the sight of Ryuu herself. Bound head-to-toe in chains, appearing as if she were an unforgivable criminal, she slowly walked step by step from Babel Tower's direction toward the specially prepared execution stage.
Throughout her approach, Ryuu's expression remained dark and lifeless. She did not lift her head even once, moving forward like a living corpse.
Just as she was about to step onto the execution platform, Hermes, who had somehow appeared, suddenly spoke:
"You look like you're ready to die, Gale."
Ryuu, having little relationship with this god, barely acknowledged him, casting a glance and lowering her head again.
Hermes sighed: "Really… so many people want to save you, yet you, the protagonist of this story, give up first?"
"Save… me?"
Ryuu's expression flickered slightly at Hermes's words—not hope, but intense unease.
She could already imagine who would try to save her.
At the very least, she did not want her companions among the maids of the Hostess of Fertility to be harmed.
Ryuu's brow furrowed as she looked at the god before her. Suspiciously, she asked:
"Why? Why are you saying this to me, Hermes? We haven't had much interaction in the past, right?"
Hermes, as if expecting her doubt, spoke calmly:
"You're right, we have little connection, and normally I wouldn't help you. But this time is different. Someone asked me to."
"Someone? Who?"
"Well, you might not understand if I explain it another way, so I'll just give you a name… Syer-chan. You should understand now, right?"
"Syer?!"
Ryuu froze. Her pupils contracted sharply, and her heart, already crushed by despair, began to beat again, though worry for her companions surged alongside it.
"No, they can't come! This isn't something they can change! Hermes, please stop them!"
Ryuu shouted desperately, trying to prevent her companions from attempting a rescue, to protect them.
Hermes waved his hand helplessly: "Impossible. The stage has been set. The story has begun. Stopping it now is simply not something that can be done."
"Story? Stage?"
"Yes. After receiving the commission, I've been busy for days, arranging connections within Orario, organizing all factions, and even outside Orario, I persuaded the war god Ares of the Rakia Kingdom to send his army to attack Orario at this time."
"Even the war god…"
"Heh. So give up, Ryuu. This judgment is no longer just about you. All of Orario—no, the entire world—will be swept up in this turmoil!"
Hermes's face showed excitement as usual, as if he anticipated the unfolding events.
Ryuu could not possibly approve of the god's attitude, treating everything as a game.
She now fully understood why Shirou despised gods and why he was determined to oppose them.
Gods and humans perceive the world from entirely different perspectives.
They are not just different species—they are on entirely different dimensions.
How could spectators outside the story have genuine feelings for those within it? Gods are like an audience outside the play; they seek only entertainment.
For a moment, Ryuu instinctively wanted to struggle, but her body remained tightly bound in chains.
It was excruciating, as if invisible hands were strangling her neck, not even daring to blink.
Hermes, seeing Ryuu regain some vitality after appearing like a dead puppet, smiled with satisfaction:
"Yes, exactly like this. As the heroine of this story, you cannot give up. You must struggle harder than anyone! Only then can you truly be saved."
"Saved… how could I possibly be saved?!"
Ryuu could not believe she could be rescued.
This was not only because of the execution itself, guarded by nearly all of Orario's forces, making a rescue nearly impossible, but also because the real blow was to her spirit, not her body.
Her heart had been betrayed by the goddess she once trusted, and abandoned by what she once relied on. It seemed impossible for her to be saved.
Hermes paid little attention to Ryuu's despair. He calmly said:
"You're very afraid, Ryuu."
"Afraid?"
"Yes. Afraid that others might die because of you, afraid that important people might be endangered by your existence. Yet simultaneously, deep down, you hope… hope to live and for others to survive, contrary to your fear."
"…"
"Humans are complex. One event can generate multiple emotions at once. Courage is born from fear, hope from despair… This is what makes humans fascinating, and why I've always been reluctant to leave Genkai."
Hermes smiled at Ryuu, as if peering into her soul.
"Struggle well. Don't disappoint me or that person."
Watching Hermes leave, Ryuu did not know what to say.
Her heart had not entirely cooled; though she seemed to accept death, she had not abandoned the last flicker of hope.
This feeling weighed heavily on her, exhausting her, making her wish she could die immediately.
Yet even that small desire could not be fulfilled. She could only drag her powerless feet toward the execution stage, to face the reality that was destined to create enormous chaos.
.
.
.
Dian Cecht Familia.
As news of Ryuu's impending execution reached them, Airmid, treating Shirou, could not hide her anxiety, yet was helpless.
She had already used all her abilities over the past days to treat Shirou, even periodically fusing Hestia's divine blood with his body, igniting the fire within him to the extreme.
Under the tempering of the ultimate fire, the swords that had continuously emerged within Shirou's body gradually ceased forming.
Yet Shirou remained asleep, unable to awaken.
Hestia, equally anxious, held his hand tightly.
She could feel his will pulsing intensely, like a condensed blazing fire ready to erupt at any moment.
But when exactly it would erupt, and whether it could awaken him before Ryuu's execution concluded, was uncertain.
At this moment, all they could do was pray that Shirou would awaken soon and once again bring miracles as before.
Though most people could not affect Shirou, the Agaris at his waist, containing a fragment of Alise's soul, had sensed everything occurring outside. She was now the only one capable of influencing Shirou.
"I must tell him everything," Alise resolved.
She took a deep breath, linking her soul with Shirou's.
The risk was enormous.
Shirou's soul was too powerful, and Alise's fragment too weak. Their contact could easily become one-sided, or even result in her soul being consumed by his immense power.
But Alise was determined. To save Ryuu, to prevent her former companions from dying, she would take any risk to rescue him—no matter the cost.
"Emiya, please… wake up!"
Alise whispered, then poured her soul into Shirou's body, risking almost complete destruction to penetrate deep into Shirou's consciousness.
.
.
.
Unlimited Blade Works.
The entire bounded field had transformed into a blazing furnace. The intense heat scorched everything around, causing the countless swords originally existing in the plains to vanish under the inferno, leaving only a very few lingering.
Clearly, as time passed, all the swords on this field would eventually be ignited by Shirou's residual fire, tempered into the seeds of a new power.
"You won't finish this so easily."
The heroic spirit EMIYA, fully aware of his disadvantage, still refused to give up.
He manipulated the ever-decreasing number of swords, attempting sneak attacks and fierce assaults on Shirou.
Shirou, without hesitation, drew a nearby longsword and faced the heroic spirit EMIYA head-on.
"Ah!"
The clash of swords rang violently.
Finally, the flames spontaneously emitted from Shirou's sword engulfed the swords in the heroic spirit EMIYA's hands, simultaneously severing his body.
"Cough…"
For the first time, the projection of the heroic spirit EMIYA, created by Unlimited Blade Works, was injured. Shirou's blade struck without hesitation.
However, since this was only the spiritual world, wounds could not destroy the opponent.
Shirou's task remained a prolonged engagement—a battle with no visible end.
Originally, Shirou planned to take the most prudent approach: gradually wear down the heroic spirit EMIYA over time, fully ignite Unlimited Blade Works, and absorb its power into himself.
But at that moment, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Emiya… Ryuu is in danger… please… save Ryuu…"
Alise's desperate call urged Shirou to wake and rescue Ryuu.
Though the voice seemed faint, almost like a hallucination, Shirou sensed the intensity of her will and the desire behind it.
He realized he could no longer afford to waste time.
"Sorry… I can't keep wasting time."
Facing the projection of Unlimited Blade Works, Shirou spoke calmly:
"I heard Alise's call. Ryuu is in danger and needs my help."
"You think you can leave this place?"
The heroic spirit EMIYA stared coldly, a mocking expression on his face.
Shirou ignored him, taking a deep breath and planting his longsword into the ground. Instantly, the heat in Unlimited Blade Works intensified several times over.
"You… what are you doing?"
The heroic spirit EMIYA hadn't expected this.
The extreme flames not only accelerated the dissipation of Unlimited Blade Works but would also harm Shirou's own body. He was effectively using a mutually destructive approach to hasten the process.
"You might die doing this!"
"Yes," Shirou calmly replied, "but as long as I can fully absorb you and the power of Unlimited Blade Works before my body collapses, it's fine."
"Do you think you can succeed?"
"Even if I can't, I will!" Shirou's expression hardened. "I must save those who need saving! This is what I must do!"
The heroic spirit EMIYA fell silent. He felt an unprecedented will burning from Shirou, a resolve to achieve his goal no matter what—even if he were shattered into pieces.
In this situation, nothing could stop him.
Everything in this old world was destined to be consumed by this awakened fire.
"Let me witness your new path, and the end it may reach."
Within the fiery whirlpool of Unlimited Blade Works, the projection of the heroic spirit EMIYA was completely incinerated.
At the last moment, he looked toward Shirou, a trace of regret mixed with a new expectation in his eyes.
After all, as the embodiment of Unlimited Blade Works itself, he was a manifestation of Shirou's power.
Once, Shirou pursued justice, creating this wilderness of infinite swords.
Now, abandoning justice, he used the raging flames to ignite the entire plains of Unlimited Blade Works, forging a path into an unknown future.
No one knew where Shirou would end up on this path.
But at least now, Shirou had resolved to move forward without hesitation, even if it meant being shattered, step by step, toward the end.
-
-
-
The Execution Ground Before Babel Tower.
Ryuu stepped onto the execution platform.
Although all was predestined, the entire crowd instinctively fell silent as she appeared. The scene became quieter than the stillest underground chamber.
Facing this moment under countless eyes, Ryuu climbed to the high point of the platform, kneeling slowly like a criminal, and closed her eyes.
She tried to escape reality, yet knew she could not. She could only pray silently in her heart:
Don't come… everyone, please don't come to save me… If I die alone, it's enough…
These thoughts rose in her mind, and instinctively, she lifted her head.
In front of the platform, the goddess of justice, Astraea, appeared.
Though her appearance was identical to the past, she no longer radiated the warmth Ryuu had once felt. Instead, she exuded a coldness Ryuu had never seen.
Instinctively, Ryuu lowered her head, lacking the courage to face the goddess's scrutiny.
At the same time, the maids of the Hostess of Fertility began to move. Though nervous, they could not remain idle in the face of Ryuu's imminent execution, willing to oppose Orario itself if needed, to fight until the last moment.
"Ryuu, we're coming to save you!"
Anya, a tavern maid, dashed forward first, attempting to approach the execution platform while keeping an eye on the Freya Familia guards nearby.
But before she could act, someone else had already moved.
"Ora ora ora! Everyone, get out of my way!"
Suddenly, chaos erupted at the execution ground.
A group of Amazonian women charged in from a distance, wielding swords and marked with the symbols of the Kali and Ishtar Familias.
Though the gods of the Kali and Ishtar Familias were captured, their Familias' members had long been in exile.
Ryuu's execution was unrelated to them, but Shirou had already warned both Familias to intervene if Ryuu were in danger.
Moreover, since Kali and Ishtar were now restrained in Babel Tower, their hatred for the gods and the guild matched Shirou's. So, before the execution began, they coordinated a sudden attack.
"Boom!"
The two Familias were formidable. The Kali Familia even had two Iv.6 combatants in formation.
Their assault immediately caused chaos at the execution site.
However, the goddess Astraea atop the platform showed no hesitation.
She subtly signaled Freya to have her subordinates block the attackers while she stepped forward, preparing to unleash her divine power to judge Ryuu.
"Astraea… my lady…"
Ryuu's body trembled instinctively as the goddess of justice approached.
Astraea spoke quietly:
"Ryuu, accept the judgment of the Sword of Judgment. Its verdict will decide the fairness of your fate."
"…."
Ryuu offered no objection, silently nodding.
At the same time, Astraea slowly raised her right hand.
In an instant, immense divine power radiated from her, unprecedented divine authority emerging from the female god, engulfing the entire execution platform.
Ultimately, a colossal sword appeared, almost covering all of Orario—
It was the Sword of Judgment of the goddess of justice, the weapon to punish sinners.
Read ahead and Finish the Fanfiction by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting