Infinite Simulation: From Konoha To Moon

Chapter 124: Babatos

Li Xiang was about to let Astati blast through the barrier when an unexpected figure appeared on the steps leading to the mountain gate.

Artoria.

She held an invisible longsword, her expression unusually cold.

"What's going on?" Li Xiang asked instinctively.

Astati naturally couldn't answer him.

As Artoria approached, before Li Xiang could say anything, she rushed down from above, running towards him.

It wasn't a warm embrace after a long separation.

It was a swift and invisible sword strike.

Li Xiang instantly activated his Language Spirit and Sage Mode, using his Han Sword to block her Excalibur with all his strength.

Artoria took a few steps back, gracefully landing after a mid-air flip.

"What happened?" Li Xiang managed to ask.

Artoria didn't answer. She swiftly moved, her Excalibur mercilessly slashing towards his neck.

In such an abnormal situation, it was clear that something had gone wrong.

"Astati, break the barrier," Li Xiang said again, deflecting her Excalibur once more.

With the dual enhancement of Language Spirit and Sage Mode, he realized that his power was no weaker than Artoria's.

But as a Servant, power was only a part of it. Her skills and Noble Phantasm were the most important.

Artoria hesitated for a moment, gripping her Excalibur with both hands, and suddenly thrust it forward.

In an instant, the spinning wind exploded with unimaginable speed, like a hammer striking out.

Li Xiang's expression froze.

He couldn't take it head-on.

Magic circuits connected to his nerves, and magical power surged rapidly.

Body Replacement Technique!

A loud bang.

The remaining wooden stake was torn apart.

Li Xiang formed a hand seal with one hand and instantly appeared behind Artoria, swinging his Han Sword down.

But he knew that the King of Knights would surely be able to react.

So he simultaneously clenched his left fist, swiftly passing through the gap between the two of them like Lion Majesty, and smashed towards her head.

As expected, the Han Sword was blocked.

But the fist hit successfully.

Artoria immediately appeared momentarily dazed.

Li Xiang had no intention of showing mercy. Several Lion Majesty emerged from his sleeve, hissing and flying out.

Shadow Snake Limbs!

The Han Sword in his hand suddenly pulled back, causing a silver-white shockwave to ripple.

The words "Fortune's Blessing" flashed by, indicating a critical hit.

But after all, she was the King of Knights.

Artoria's dizziness didn't even last for a second.

Seeing Lion Majesty approaching, she made no movement. Instead, a set of armor suddenly appeared, tightly enveloping her.

This was normal.

During her lifetime, because her appearance was too feminine, she always wore a helmet.

And that helmet, Artoria, who had reached the Gun Stage, could understand that it could indeed conceal her appearance.

Even her eyes couldn't be seen.

Although as a Servant in the present world, she didn't wear a helmet, it didn't mean it didn't exist.

Otherwise, it would be too illogical.

Li Xiang knew that this attack would be in vain.

But perhaps a critical hit could surprise him.

The Han Sword collided directly with the Excalibur.

A burst of gas exploded.

The Excalibur revealed its true form.

Artoria was slightly surprised, the immense power causing her to step back.

At that moment, the entire mountain trembled.

Li Xiang instinctively looked up and saw the massive magical power enveloping the sky.

The starlight was roaring.

Even in broad daylight, it was clearly visible.

A faint golden light fell like a meteor shower.

The barrier crackled and snapped.

Inside Ryuudou Temple, it was not as calm as imagined.

Emiya Shirou, holding projected swords, was struggling to defend against Red A's attacks.

But Tohsaka Rin, as the Master, was nowhere to be found.

"Who is this guy?" Red A's pupils contracted.

Emiya Shirou, in the midst of his battle with Red A, gradually awakened the memories of his body.

But he was far from a match for him.

As long as he was given time, he could definitely take down Emiya Shirou.

And the reason he was doing this was because he was tired of living as a Servant.

He was not an ordinary Heroic Spirit, he was a Guardian.

Red A was a version of Emiya Shirou from a certain timeline or the future. After the Fifth Holy Grail War, he joined the Clock Tower with Tohsaka Rin.

After graduating, he traveled around pursuing his dream of finding partners in justice and constantly saving others.

But in an accident at a power plant, he was on the verge of death.

At that moment, a restraining force appeared and, claiming to save the power plant workers, made him a Guardian.

Red A agreed without hesitation.

Since then, he had been repeating the cycle of saving people endlessly.

Finally, he felt tired.

But as a Heroic Spirit, it was impossible to be erased from the Throne of Heroes.

After being summoned, Red A thought of a possibility: if he killed the past Emiya Shirou, then the future version of himself might cease to exist as well.

Even if it meant cooperating with Matou Zouken and betraying Tohsaka Rin, he was willing to do it.

Red A glanced at Emiya Shirou, freeing one hand, and countless magic circles appeared all around.

Magic power surged into the sky like a tide.

The barrier received assistance and began to reinforce itself.

Red A couldn't help but feel fortunate.

Fortunately, he had seen Astolfo's battle before and knew how terrifying she was.

When Matou Zouken came knocking, he chose to cooperate.

The content was that he would receive the assistance of the Greater Grail and possess infinite magical power.

In return, he would help Matou Zouken buy time.

But Red A realized that he had underestimated Astolfo.

It was unbelievable.

How could there be such a powerful Servant?

The intense shock almost destroyed Ryuudou Temple along with Mt. Enzou.

While maintaining the input of magical power, Red A tried to slow down the time of the barrier's collapse while chanting a magic incantation.

As a practitioner, but not a member of the Godo family, his High-Speed Divine Words level was relatively low.

If it were Medea, she could instantly cast magic with a dozen or twenty syllables.

But even so, Red A was faster than in the original work.

There wouldn't be an embarrassing situation of a chant being too long and getting killed halfway.

For the current situation, he could only use his Noble Phantasm.

Unlimited Blade Works.

Rewrite reality into a world of the mind.

Somewhat similar to a different dimension.

Red A planned to pull Emiya Shirou into it and settle their grievances.

As for Matou Zouken, who cared about him.

In the instant they both disappeared, the barrier completely shattered.

Li Xiang leaped back, avoiding Artoria's attack.

Without using Noble Phantasms, they were evenly matched.

One important reason for this was that he had seen the swordsmanship Artoria used.

The knight he met in Avalon, which he went to because of a flower.

Exactly the same.

Li Xiang finally understood his identity at this moment, a Knight of the Round Table, Artoria's foster brother, Gawain.

"Master."

Astolfo raised his hand and asked, "How should we deal with her?"

The barrier had already collapsed.

But before entering, Artoria had to be dealt with.

Li Xiang speculated that the reason she couldn't speak or attack them was due to a Command Spell.

Only when forcibly executed would it be like this.

This also indicates that her Master, Emiya Shirou, is likely in danger, as he has even entrusted his Command Seals to someone else.

Just then, Scathach appeared in front of Li Xiang and said, "She entrusted them to me."

She held a crimson spear, and a rare fighting spirit appeared in her eyes.

Because she sensed the magical leakage from Astolfo's attack on the barrier, she rushed over.

Li Xiang was slightly taken aback, but immediately nodded.

He passed by Artoria and entered Ryuudou Temple.

There were traces of battle all over the ground, but no one could be seen.

"Inherent Barrier."

Astolfo looked around and said, "It should be Red A."

"Indeed, something has happened."

Li Xiang wasn't too surprised either.

In the original work, Red A did something similar.

He cooperated with Medea and betrayed Rin Tohsaka.

"Should we break in?"

Astolfo asked.

"You can enter the Inherent Barrier too?"

Li Xiang seemed somewhat surprised. The Inherent Barrier could already be considered a forbidden spell in magic, a top-tier existence.

"As long as there is enough magical power."

Astolfo shook his right hand and smiled. "The magical power of a planet is more than enough."

"..."

Li Xiang didn't know what to say.

But he could guess who was inside the Inherent Barrier, besides Red A himself, it was likely Emiya Shirou.

He thought for a moment and said, "This is their own grudge. Let's find Rin Tohsaka first and clarify the situation."

Li Xiang formed hand seals and expanded his perception.

In Sage Mode, he almost instantly took in the situation of the entire mountain range.

It was pitch black underground, with nothing but magical power.

The situation couldn't be seen clearly.

Considering that the Greater Grail was here, Li Xiang could understand.

"Rin Tohsaka is inside."

He used Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of a room, opened it, and saw Rin Tohsaka tied up.

Her mouth was stuffed with a towel, making it impossible for her to speak.

Upon seeing Li Xiang, a look of surprise immediately appeared on her face.

"Ugh..."

Because of the towel, her voice sounded muffled.

Li Xiang approached and untied her, asking, "Rin, what happened?"

But Rin Tohsaka didn't answer. She looked at Astolfo, who resembled her, and momentarily forgot to speak.

Could it be that her mother had crossed the line or her father had strayed?

This thought flashed through her mind.

It was just too similar.

But she quickly remembered that she still had a biological sister.

Reportedly, she had been sent to distant relatives in Finland.

"Are you my sister?"

Rin Tohsaka couldn't help but ask.

"Now is not the time to talk about that."

Astolfo raised an eyebrow and said, "First, tell us why you are here."

Rin Tohsaka snapped out of it and realized her own loss of composure.

"Last night, an old man claiming to be Matou Zouken's friend, Matou Shinshin, came to my door. He said he could help me win the Holy Grail War, as he was a good friend of my father, Tokiomi Tohsaka. But what I didn't expect was that my Servant, Caster, betrayed me."

"After secretly conspiring with Matou Shinshin, he used a peculiar dagger to break our contract. I'm not sure what happened afterwards, but after being captured and brought to Ryuudou Temple, I saw Emiya Shirou and his Servant, Saber."

"I see."

Li Xiang also confirmed his own speculation.

Indeed, it was Red A's betrayal.

As for that dagger, it was highly likely to be the Noble Phantasm of the projected Medea, Rule Breaker.

Its effect was to sever contracts.

In the Holy Grail War, it was quite useful.

However, logically speaking, the projected dagger's effect should not be as good as the original.

But considering Matou Zouken, it was also possible.

Fortunately, Red A hasn't gone so far as to kill Tohsaka Rin.

At least it's better than the original.

Leaving Tohsaka Rin to Matou Shinji gave birth to a popular joke. I can play with this for a year.

Luckily, Cu Chulainn arrived and saved her.

After catching her breath, Tohsaka Rin asked, "What's happening outside? I just felt a strong shock. Did you guys fight with Caster?"

"Emiya, like you, had his Servant taken away, but he was pulled into Caster's Noble Phantasm, so we don't know the situation at the moment," Li Xiang explained. "Based on my guess, Caster's Noble Phantasm is most likely a bounded field. And Saber is temporarily being held back by my colleague, which is why I was able to come and save you."

A bounded field?

As a proper mage, Tohsaka Rin received education from the Tohsaka Tokiomi system since she was young, unlike someone like Emiya Shirou who is only half-hearted.

She understood the concept of a bounded field very well.

"If we want to save Emiya, we must know where Caster's Command Spells are. By retrieving the Command Spells, we can order Caster to release the bounded field," Li Xiang said in a deep voice.

Going around in circles, it comes back to the same question.

Where is Matou Zouken?

"The Greater Grail," Tohsaka Rin suddenly said. "After I was captured, Caster and Matou Zouken didn't pay any attention to me, so I overheard their collaboration. It's probably that Caster obtained the magical power of the Greater Grail and is buying time for him."

"You stay here," Li Xiang decisively said. "My Servant and I will handle it."

"I'm going too!" Tohsaka Rin immediately said.

"Although it sounds a bit harsh, it's difficult for you to be of help with your current strength," Li Xiang shook his head and said.

"..." Tohsaka Rin hesitated to speak.

But she maintained her elegance as a lady and didn't argue anymore.

"I'll have Marlena take you back," Li Xiang said, gesturing to her outside the door.

"You're staying too?" Tohsaka Rin was slightly surprised and worried. "Such a dangerous task should be left to the Servants."

Astathis couldn't help but laugh.

She grabbed her hand and pulled her outside, saying, "You really think of me as your sister, but unfortunately, I'm not. However, your sister is indeed staying at my place. After this is over, you'll be able to see her."

Tohsaka Rin was stunned.

Not my sister, but looks so much like me?

Astathis pushed her onto the flying carpet and said, "Hold on tight."

When Tohsaka Rin snapped out of it, she was already far away from Ryuudou Temple.

The Greater Grail, strictly speaking, is a magical ritual.

Its essence is the magical circuit of Justitia.

Justitia is an artificial human created by the Einzbern family.

The accidental birth of the Third Magic user.

The so-called Third Magic is the materialization of the soul, ultimately achieving immortality.

The Einzbern family was established by disciples of the magus who achieved the Third Magic.

But unfortunately, their skills were not up to par, and they couldn't reproduce Justitia's miracle, so they constructed the system of the Holy Grail War.

Essentially, it was to reach the Root.

By injecting the souls of the six deceased Servants into the Lesser Grail and using their power to pierce the world, and then using the accumulated magical power of the Greater Grail to fix this hole, a door leading to the Root was created.

As for the so-called granting of any wish, it was only a reason to attract magi to participate in the Holy Grail War.

And the location of the Greater Grail is the large hollow beneath Ryuudou Temple.

Astathis raised her hand, not using a gem, and a golden light burst from her fingertips, piercing through the ground until the end.

Li Xiang saw this and jumped down the passage.

After about half a minute, they reached the bottom.

An emptied-out hall.

There was almost no need to search.

He saw Matou Zouken.

At this moment, he didn't look like a normal human no matter how you looked at him.

His face only had a faint nose and eyes, and his whole body was covered in blood-colored lines.

He looked at Li Xiang and said, "Nice to meet you, Master of Chaldea. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am one of the 72 Demon Pillars, Sequence 8, Barbatos."

4,000 words

(End of this chapter)