Simultaneously, the spawning of specters and demons in Shimousa intensified, gaining even greater momentum. Evil spirits everywhere responded to the call of the Great Vengeful Spirit.
With the roars of monstrosities and the battle cries of Heroic Spirits clashing, Shimousa became the battleground for a world-shaking final showdown—!
"Your plans shall be shattered in an instant! I know full well what you intend! You came all this way to return humanity's worst Master to Chaldea using this Head Shrine! The soul that appeared to pacify this realm, those beautiful bonds—truly wonderful! BUT! BUT! That ultimate goal shall end unfulfilled! Before this very vengeful spirit of Taira no Masakado, you shall be blocked! You shall rot! You shall perish!"
"—"
"That radiance! That authority! If it cannot be blocked, then you have no choice but to pit yourself against it! Now, prepare yourselves—"
In that instant—
"—Ah?"
Limbo's head went flying. Severed by an invisible flash, his head tumbled far into the distance. His separated body fell to its knees like a fountain spouting blood.
"Your curses are unbearable to hear. Keep your mouth shut for a while."
Silencing Limbo with a casual stroke of his short sword, Masakado turned toward the gigantic spirit. Crossing his arms as if to shield Rikka, he faced the Great Vengeful Spirit directly.
"There is no need to fear. It has no grand purpose, no mission. It is merely a bound, wandering ghost dragged out against its will. No matter how imposing its form, its exorcism is ordained."
Rikka gazed at the broad back of the New Emperor as he stood calmly before the monster. She understood. A spirit that was 'merely large' couldn't even hold a candle to Masakado.
Because... Masakado was kind and deep. Throughout this brief journey, she had been saved by his warmth time and time again.
He had shared rice balls with her, rushed to rescue Onui and Tasuke without hesitation, and provided food for the two children. He had changed diapers without a single complaint, and even while knowing her mother's true identity, he said nothing, handed over gold, and quietly watched over their warm family moment. And now, he was fighting alongside her, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, protecting her as well.
Compared to his true greatness... this giant skeleton in front of them was nothing more than a cheap, flashy facade. Having witnessed the majestic authority and radiant glory of the New Emperor firsthand, Rikka could say it clearly now:
"No matter what form it takes, no matter who stands in our way, my respect and gratitude toward you will never waver! I'll fight by your side until the very end, Masakado-sama!"
Hearing her response, Masakado turned back toward her slightly.
"—"
...In that fraction of a second, Rikka caught a glimpse of his expression. Though he was clad in golden and pitch-black armor, with crimson, bonfire-like eyes glowing beneath his helm, she saw it clearly.
"—I have been blessed with a wonderful Master."
He was smiling with a gentle, compassionate expression... Rikka saw that face beyond a shadow of a doubt. Perhaps that was... the warm resolve of Masakado himself—the decision to return his own past misdeeds and vengeful spirit back to the earth.
"■■■■■■■■!!!!!"
The appalling spirit hurled forth the concentrated hatred and sorrow residing within its frame. A torrent like a massive waterfall—a malice strong enough to sweep away several Servants—was rendered completely inert by Masakado's soul alone, turned aside by the sheer integrity of his existence.
"The meaning of my summoning shall be fulfilled here and now."
Gazing upward quietly, a golden brilliance filled the surroundings, and divine golden aura surged forth. A radiance that made malice writhe in agony—the gentle spark of a morning sun that wrapped Rikka in warmth—was unleashed with Masakado at its center.
"My vengeful spirit, which slept in a pruned world, was summoned to this realm so that it might be pacified and returned to rest. The delusions of my past, which proved too heavy for human hands, were meant to be buried in eternal darkness. I have accepted my role as the one brought forth to restore peace."
He revealed that he had been summoned specifically to erase the dormant vengeful spirit of his alternate self—to personally pacify the dark spirit of his other half before it could consume the world.
"And yet—beyond my duty, I have obtained an irreplaceable treasure."
That was not all. The New Emperor spoke of gaining something precious beyond his original mission.
"I was granted the chance to form a bond with a strong, courageous daughter of Japan. A fine soul, a fierce young girl, a kind woman. A meeting of such noble moments... truly worthy of being the first master-servant memory of my existence."
"—..."
The time they had spent together, the moments they had shared—that was the reward most fitting for this summoning. That alone was the true prize granted to him, and it was more than enough. So Taira no Masakado declared.
That alone—was the treasure that made this summoning worthwhile. To have been of aid to one living in this era was his true desire. That was all he ever needed, he told her.
At his warm affirmation... Rikka's face broke into a bashful, embarrassed smile beneath her armor. Beholding her reaction, Masakado nodded with deep satisfaction.
"—My alter ego, my vengeful spirit. Lament your own lack of virtue if you must, sing your grievances if you will. Hate the disrespect shown to you as much as you desire."
He fixed the vengeful spirit with a single, sharp glare. With that pressure alone—that absolute aura—he intimidated the mountain-sized giant, binding it in place with sheer majesty.
"However—I shall NEVER permit you to block the tomorrow of those who live in the present and the future. The vengeful ghost born of my flaws shall simply return to the dirt."
And so—he manifested the Noble Phantasm that embodied this resolve. A Noble Phantasm that pacifies all evil spirits, receives all prayers, gathers all faith, and carries hopes for the future into tomorrow.
"Humans fear and revere the gods. Gods cherish and bless humans. Like Yin and Yang, they cycle endlessly, forming the principle that weaves all creation. The faith overflowing within me, and the hardships filling this world—I shall shoulder them both, bear them both, and transform them into a shining beacon for the future."
With a rumble that shook the earth, accompanied by a light that illuminated everything around them, it manifested.
The souls filling Shimousa gathered all at once into the great sword drawn by Masakado. The unleashed radiance of the morning sun overflowed, bathing the specters and demons, dissolving them into nothingness, and accomplishing their total pacification.
That pillar of dawn light shone like a brilliant golden morning. Displaying their true, divine forms here was the legendary, colossal shrine where prayers throughout history had gathered—the place where he himself resided—
"Come forth. My singular authority—[Shinno Zarin Sochinju: Kyokko Kengen - Kanda Myojin] (New Emperor's Presence, Paramount Protection: Morning Sun Manifestation - Kanda Shrine)!"
"Woah...!"
Appearing behind Masakado and Rikka was a massive, majestic shrine—a divine sanctuary built to receive every prayer.
Born from the legend of how those who once feared Masakado's glory enshrined his soul out of awe and reverence, he possessed and manifested it as a matter of course. It was the absolute stronghold of Taira no Masakado's power—the grand shrine praised by Japan for protecting Tokyo and Edo—!
"■■■■■■!!!"
Within the shrine of the gods that had suddenly descended, the Great Vengeful Spirit writhed and suffered in agony. As long as this shrine existed, Taira no Masakado gained a pseudo-immortality, backed by the magical energy of Japan itself, reducing all damage taken from any hero of Japan to absolute zero.
At the same time... he gained absolute conceptual effectiveness against malice, vengeful ghosts, and demonic entities. —Specifically, an additional secondary effect that added damage equal to the current total population of Japan against anyone hostile to the land!
"My lost half, rest peacefully beneath this single blade. Monstrosities, specters, the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons—let them all crumble under my authority and return to the underworld, return to hell."
The peerless souls of history gathered upon the raised blade. Bound by the noble will to protect Japan, they unleashed an unprecedented, absolute strike. The name of that strike, demonstrating the glory of Godhood itself, was—!!
"[Masakado Shitou—] (Masakado's Revealed Blade—)
The sky-piercing blade swallowed the Great Vengeful Spirit of Shimousa Soma without fail—
"-[Shinno Kengen]!" (New Emperor Manifestation!)
"■■, ■■■—!!!"
Completely engulfed in the golden light of the morning sun illuminating Japan, the sleeping Great Vengeful Spirit turned to light and dispersed into mist. Purified into particles by the radiance that lit up all creation, it vanished without a trace.
"...Amazing...!"
Sheathing his sword slowly, the grand structure of Kanda Shrine also receded, its duty fulfilled.
"—My role here is finished. Yet, there remains one whose path I must watch over to the end."
The two turned to look at each other and exchanged a quiet nod.
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