Chapter 177: Alise: I've Fallen in Love with Emiya, So I Will Never Let Go Easily!
The former Astraea Familia base has now become the stronghold established after Shirou and the Goddess of Justice Astraea joined forces.
"Are you truly planning to go through with the War Game against Ouranos?"
Loki immediately posed this question to Shirou upon arriving from Babel.
"I have no other choice."
Shirou calmly nodded in response, expressing his absolute determination to rescue Hestia.
Because of his attitude, Loki immediately realized that his mind could not be changed, so she smiled, patted his shoulder, and said: "In that case, I will definitely help you. This is a rare opportunity for me to repay your favor."
"Is that so?" Shirou was somewhat surprised by Loki's choice, "I actually don't think you should intervene in the conflict between Ouranos and me."
Loki Familia has always existed purely to maintain the order of Orario.
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for them to openly resist the Heavenly God Ouranos, the founder of Orario, let alone defy the Guild's wishes.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't take action without any chance of winning." Loki smiled, "For Orario, the Heavenly God Ouranos is indeed the founder of everything, but the public's trust in him is mostly just a name.
The god truly worthy of aspiration and respect in Orario in recent years has been none other than the Goddess of Justice, Astraea! So, as long as Astraea publicly opposes Ouranos, I can jump over to this side without any reservations."
As Loki spoke, she winked at Astraea beside her.
"You're as willful as ever," Astraea commented quietly on Loki's actions, "But I'm grateful for your assistance. However, I regret to inform you that the Goddess Freya has sided with the Heavenly God Ouranos."
"Yes, I never thought that woman would do that," Loki said with a complicated expression, "I originally thought she would definitely side with Emiya."
"Goddess Freya was likely in league with the Heavenly God Ouranos from the start," Shirou concluded, "A long time ago, I noticed that she was very deeply familiar with Orario's dark side, even possibly aware that Evilus was not the true evil, and that all the wickedness originated from the Heavenly God Ouranos himself."
"That guy was really hiding his true nature..."
Loki sighed, feeling helpless about the scheming of the Beauty Goddess Freya, who had been her colleague for so long.
The two gods then further analyzed the War Game with Ouranos with Shirou and decided to confront him at Babel, as per his request.
However, Astraea suggested that Shirou remain at the base and let her go to meet Ouranos alone.
This was to prevent Ouranos from taking despicable measures, setting a trap, and forcibly eliminating Shirou, who was a human.
Although Shirou possessed the strength to fight a god, he was essentially a mortal, and facing true divine power would likely result in his inability to survive.
Conversely, Astraea going alone would be fine.
As the Goddess of Justice, she not only held a unique status in Orario—meaning Ouranos couldn't directly target her—but her authority was also powerful enough to resolve most dangers.
Even if Ouranos used the Scorpion Antares, the divine-powered creature that captured Hestia, it would be difficult to shake Astraea's authority.
Most importantly, as a god, even if Astraea were targeted, she would at most return to Tenkai and would not meet a true death.
Based on all these reasons, Astraea ultimately decided to face Ouranos alone and had everyone, including Shirou, remain at the Familia base first.
.
.
.
After Astraea left to meet Ouranos, Shirou didn't just stand idly by. He first sought out Thanatos and dealt with the souls of Astraea Familia members with him.
"Although I cannot return to Tenkai now, I still possess a part of the authority to reincarnate souls," Thanatos slowly spoke, "The souls of these children from Astraea Familia have been tormented by Ouranos's Familia for so many years. It is time for them to accept reincarnation and embrace a new life."
"Your authority can reincarnate souls, Thanatos?" This was the first time Shirou had heard of this.
"This was originally my duty in Tenkai," Thanatos said quietly, "As the God of Death, I preside over the River Styx for reincarnation. All souls in this world, after death, arrive at the Styx where I am. After being completely purified and becoming a pure entity, they return to the world. Although I cannot return to Tenkai now and reach the Styx, I can still indirectly cast souls into the Styx using my authority."
"..."
Hearing Thanatos's words, Shirou gained a deeper understanding of Thanatos's authority.
But then he suddenly thought of one thing: Thanatos was currently unable to return to Tenkai.
It was now confirmed that Ouranos was the culprit behind all this, and he even claimed that he had deliberately made it impossible for Thanatos to return to Tenkai, confining him to the Lower World.
Shirou couldn't help but suspect that Ouranos's reason for doing this was to prevent Thanatos from returning to the Styx, thereby preventing him from completely controlling the law of reincarnation.
But why would Ouranos do this?
What was the purpose of preventing the God of Death from completely managing reincarnated souls?
Was it to make the Xenos experiment go more smoothly?
While it could indeed be thought of that way, Shirou felt there was some deeper reason behind it.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of information, Shirou couldn't figure out the reason.
On the other side, Thanatos had already begun the reincarnation of Astraea Familia members—a process he specifically asked Ryuu, a former Familia member, to witness.
Seeing her companions' souls being cast into the Styx one by one, welcoming new life, Ryuu felt a sense of salvation but also a slight loneliness.
Because it meant her former companions had completely departed from her.
However, something that neither Shirou nor Ryuu expected was that when it was time for Alise's soul to be cast into the Styx, Alise's remnant soul within the Ageris suddenly emerged and blocked the way.
"Can you fuse my soul with the sword?"
Alise proposed this to Thanatos.
"Why?" Thanatos asked confusedly, "Only by going to the Styx can you be completely reincarnated and gain a new life. If you don't, you will be eternally trapped in this sword. Even if you are unaffected for a short time, with time, your soul will eventually dissipate completely."
"That doesn't matter," Alise spoke with a firm expression, "Even if I can't be reincarnated, it doesn't matter. At least now I want to become an aid to my companions. I want to provide a power for Emiya and Ryuu."
"..."
Ryuu and Shirou were surprised that Alise would make such a choice.
But they both felt Alise's will and were unable to stop her here.
After a moment of silence, Thanatos respected Alise's idea. Instead of casting her soul into the Styx, he completely fused it into the Ageris.
All of a sudden, the Ageris itself had essentially turned into a true Demon Sword. This sword even gained a level and could be enhanced with the Falna of a god, just like a human.
"Alise, are you truly okay with doing this?"
Ryuu spoke with a complicated expression.
Her mood was very strange.
After all, she was both happy that Alise stayed, meaning she wouldn't be alone anymore, but also worried for Alise, afraid that she might one day completely scatter her soul.
Facing Ryuu's distress, Alise didn't know what to say.
And Shirou spoke quietly: "Don't worry. Since Thanatos can fuse Alise's soul into a sword, he will surely be able to take it out one day. As long as all the fighting is over, there shouldn't be any problem if we ask Thanatos to retrieve her soul."
"That... I don't really think that's necessary... Being able to stay by your side in the form of a sword is quite nice..."
Alise spoke softly.
And her words happened to enter Ryuu's ears.
"A-Alise... You wouldn't happen to have feelings for Emiya..."
Ryuu asked in a flustered way, her expression suddenly very strange.
"Did you notice?" Alise, seeing Ryuu's look, didn't hide anything at all, "Yes, I've fallen in love with Emiya, so even if I completely turn into a sword, I will never let go easily! By the way, Ryuu, don't you have any feelings for Emiya?"
"..."
"Hehe, I knew you were also fond of him!" Alise smiled quite openly instead, "That's only natural. If Emiya had joined Astraea Familia before, our whole Familia would probably have been attracted to him. After all, he is the ideal being for all of us, including Goddess Astraea."
"..."
Alise's frank words plunged Ryuu into silence.
Ryuu clearly held deep feelings for Shirou as well.
It was a kind of admiration that surpassed simple affection, reaching a level that could be called adoration.
This was because, for Astraea Familia, who pursued justice, Shirou was the sole benchmark. He had even achieved what the Goddess of Justice Astraea could not accomplish. He held a fatal attraction for every member of Astraea Familia.
"But, but even so..." Ryuu remained reserved nonetheless, "We haven't been in contact with Emiya for very long."
"Huh? You're actually worried about that?" Alise laughed at the sight, "Ryuu, that won't do. If you hesitate like this, Emiya might be snatched away by someone else. If I hadn't become like this, I would have definitely secured him immediately. I wouldn't have given up, even using forceful means. Unfortunately, now I'm destined to have no chance, but you still have hope, don't you?"
"..."
Alise's encouragement made Ryuu's cheeks flush red.
The innocent Elf girl was clearly unable to be as frank and proactive as Alise. She trembled all over, completely unsure how to respond.
"What are you two talking about?"
Shirou originally didn't intend to interrupt their catching up, but seeing that they hadn't finished talking for such a long time, he couldn't help but show curiosity.
"Nothing, just a girl's secret."
Alise smiled and winked at Ryuu.
But this only intensified Ryuu's blush, making her not even dare to look at Shirou. She turned around and left in a hurry.
Only the bewildered Shirou was left standing in place.
.
.
.
Goddess Astraea returned not long after going to Babel.
According to Astraea's account, as soon as she arrived at Babel, she was welcomed by the Heavenly God Ouranos, and Babel had completely fallen under Ouranos's control.
Most of Orario's gods ultimately did not dare to defy Ouranos. Even if they chose not to support Ouranos, they dared not show any disobedience.
Under these circumstances, Astraea could almost be said to have faced the oppression of the gods all by herself.
But she was not afraid of this. She faced Ouranos squarely and communicated the specific details of the War Game with him.
According to Ouranos's demand, the War Game would unfold in the form of a Familia War.
Specifically, the Familia led by Shirou and the Familia led by Ouranos would engage in a head-on confrontation within a fixed area.
It is worth mentioning that Ouranos explicitly stated that gods cannot participate in this War Game. The game can only proceed with the strength of mortals against each other.
Regarding Ouranos's condition, Astraea specifically asked whether "divine-powered monsters count as gods and if they would be banned."
Ouranos was evasive about this, clearly intending to exploit a loophole in the rules and forcibly use a special monster like the Scorpion Antares.
Since Hestia was in his hands, even if Ouranos proposed unfavorable demands, Shirou's side would find it difficult to object. Thus, Astraea ultimately reserved the proposal regarding the War Game rules and returned to discuss with Shirou before giving Ouranos a final answer.
"A direct confrontation between Familia and Familia?" Shirou frowned slightly, "Apart from the gods being unable to participate, are there no other rules?"
"There is one more rule," Astraea spoke quietly, "A special base will be set up on the Familia War battlefield. Both sides must protect their respective bases. Once a base is destroyed, it is equivalent to directly losing the War Game."
"What are the conditions after losing?"
"Ouranos's condition is that if he loses, he will immediately return Hestia. But if he wins, he wants you, Emiya, to join the Ouranos Familia."
"I thought he would ask me to commit suicide directly."
Shirou spoke with a smile.
He hadn't expected Ouranos to be so merciful, not requiring him to die even if he lost.
But this was likely because Ouranos still saw value in him and wanted to experiment with him, a mortal who could fight a god.
"Alright, then let's just agree to his terms."
After carefully studying the rules of Ouranos's War Game and confirming there were no loopholes in the rules, Shirou directly told Astraea to agree to the conditions.
"No, Emiya, do you really think it's fine?" Loki on the side couldn't help but be stunned, "Ouranos implied he will use that divine-powered monster! If Thanatos and the others weren't mistaken, that monster is equivalent to possessing all of Artemis's authority! It's an existence absolutely no weaker than Astraea!"
"I know, but if we don't do this, the other side wouldn't propose such a condition, would they?" Shirou spoke frankly, "We have me, an existence that can fight a god, and they send out a divine-powered monster that possesses true divine power. This is what you call a fair confrontation."
"..."
"And I'm not fighting alone, am I?" Shirou smiled, "The condition of the competition is to destroy the opponent's base. In that case, if I can reach a stalemate with Artemis's divine-powered monster, we can still win as long as my companions seize the opportunity to destroy the opponent's base."
"..."
Hearing Shirou's words, everyone present showed complicated expressions.
Especially the members of Loki Familia, they hadn't expected Shirou to place his hope on them, and they all looked nervous for a moment.
After all, they weren't without opponents.
If all goes as expected, Freya Familia will be their biggest challenge.
And as one of Orario's strongest factions, even Loki Familia doesn't have a guaranteed victory against Freya Familia.
What was even worse were Astraea's next words.
"When I was leaving Babel, I heard news that Ouranos likely contacted the School District," Astraea suddenly spoke.
"The School District?"
Hearing this term, Shirou looked confused, but most people present understood what it meant.
Shirou quickly inquired about the concept of the so-called School District.
It turned out to be a special institution established by the Guild to cultivate young adventurers, allowing them to receive education in a safe environment to become the fresh forces of Orario's adventurers.
"The School District is an organization under the Guild, after all. If nothing unexpected happens, Ouranos will definitely be able to win over the personnel from the School District,"
Astraea said quietly, "And currently, the School District still has the other Lv.7 in the world besides Ottar, the Knight of Knights, Leon Vardenberg."
"Another Lv.7?"
"Yes, he was once a member of Zeus Familia, but only a low-level adventurer, which allowed him to survive the calamity's subjugation," Astraea said quietly, "Now, Leon can be said to be one of the world's strongest alongside Ottar. If it weren't for your intervention, Emiya, ordinary people wouldn't be able to fight him."
"How can this be?"
He hadn't expected the enemies to include not only Lv.7 Ottar but also the Knight of Knights, Leon.
Loki Familia's heart sank halfway because of this. They felt immense pressure.
Since none of them had a Lv.7, they couldn't imagine how to confront two Lv.7s.
Only Shirou remained relatively calm. Even knowing that there were two Lv.7s among the opponents, his expression didn't change much.
He spoke quietly: "I understand. So the main enemies are Freya Familia and the School District, as well as Artemis's divine-powered monster, is that right? Don't worry, we are not without the possibility of winning. In fact, the opportunity for victory is close at hand!"
Read ahead and Finish the Fanfiction by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting