Chapter 142: The Avatar Created by Divine Power! Shirou VS the Artificial Angel!
Shirou no longer uttered a single word.
His fury toward Hermes had reached its limit.
He stepped forward and directly launched a frontal assault on a god!
Such an act was undoubtedly insane.
Even the seemingly weakest deity descended to Genkai possessed powers that no mortal could contend with—divine authority far beyond the reach of any ordinary person.
Not to mention, if pushed to the extreme, a god could always choose to return to heaven and unleash their full divine power in the process.
However, Shirou's action wasn't a reckless one.
He had bet on the fact that Hermes would absolutely not dare to use his divine power, nor would he willingly return to Tenkai—and that's why Shirou chose this moment to strike.
Because for Hermes, his goal was to make Bell a hero.
To do that, he had to maintain the current stage of Orario.
He couldn't allow the "play" unfolding on this stage to be disrupted, nor could he accept the stage itself being destroyed by outside interference.
This meant that the moment Hermes used his divine power and was forced to return to Tenkai, his wish would become impossible to fulfill, and all his plans would collapse.
That was why Shirou dared to attack Hermes like this—using pure violence to force him into submission.
If Hermes couldn't use his divine authority and lost his ability to interfere in Orario, it would effectively mean Shirou had won.
"Give up and surrender quietly, Hermes."
Shirou rushed forward at incredible speed.
He didn't rely on sneak attacks or trickery—his assault was a straightforward, close-quarters attack aimed directly at Hermes.
"Shirou!?"
Hestia, standing nearby, couldn't help but reveal a worried expression.
She didn't intend to stop Shirou's fight—but she was concerned that, if Shirou forced Hermes to the edge and made him use divine power, it would result in a devastating counterattack.
Even the strongest mortal in Genkai would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot if faced with a god's full might.
However, Hestia had no way of intervening in this battle.
As the goddess of the hearth, she lacked any authority to interfere in combat.
She couldn't stop the clash between Shirou and Hermes.
Thus, all she could do was watch with wide eyes as a battle between mortal and god erupted before her—a clash destined to be earth-shaking in its result.
"Boom!"
Under Hestia's gaze, Shirou appeared before Hermes almost like teleportation.
He raised his magically enhanced arm and threw a steel fist directly at Hermes.
Given Shirou's current level—already at the pinnacle of power in the labyrinth city—Hermes had no way to counter him unless he used divine power.
But using divine power meant he would be forced to return to Tenkai.
Trapped in a dilemma, it was clear that Hermes was unlikely to resist Shirou with strength.
It was an absolute trolley problem—a deadlock that not even a god could resolve.
Even Hermes could only choose one: either submit or unleash divine power and return to Tenkai.
Yet Hermes did neither. He didn't surrender nor did he activate divine power to repel Shirou.
He simply stood there coldly, facing Shirou's incoming strike without flinching.
"!!!"
Hermes' attitude caused Shirou to furrow his brow.
But at this point, there was no hesitation left in Shirou. No matter what trick Hermes had up his sleeve, he would use all his strength to defeat him!
"Bang!"
Shirou's fist smashed toward Hermes.
His blow, infused with unwavering will, erupted with full force, like a raging beast tearing apart everything in its path.
However, just as his punch was about to hit Hermes, a tremendous sense of danger suddenly flared in Shirou's mind.
It was the power of his "Mind's Eye"—a force that had saved him countless times from life-or-death situations.
That was why Shirou had unshakable trust in it.
Even though he saw no enemy before him, and Hermes showed no signs of resistance, Shirou instinctively stopped advancing and immediately jumped backward.
In that split second, the space where Shirou had just stood suddenly shattered.
Time and space themselves fractured at that moment, erupting into chaotic ripples.
Even though Shirou had dodged as quickly as possible, his arm was instantly severed.
Though the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs granted him immense regenerative ability, his right hand would not recover quickly.
"What… what on earth just happened!? What was that just now!?"
Hestia couldn't comprehend the scene before her.
Just moments ago, Shirou had the overwhelming advantage.
Hermes didn't appear to have used divine power either, yet he had nearly killed Shirou in an instant.
If Shirou hadn't reacted in time, that blow would've likely taken off his head.
"Huh? You actually dodged that? You really do manage to surprise me every time, Emiya Shirou."
On the other side, Hermes calmly adjusted the hat on his head, wearing a smile that said everything was under control.
He looked at Shirou's severed arm and spoke slowly, "How do you like the stage I prepared just for you? Did it catch you off guard?"
Shirou was unfazed by Hermes' cryptic words.
Silently, he stared at the god who had created Orario's stage, recalling the fleeting sensation just now—and made a judgment.
"Stage? More like you brought in a last-minute stand-in actor."
Shirou looked past Hermes—at what seemed like an empty space—but in his eyes, a vague shadow appeared, like a reflection or projection of some unknown entity.
He saw through it: the attack that nearly killed him just now wasn't from Hermes, but rather from that shadowy illusion beside him.
"As I expected, you saw through it, Emiya Shirou. For a human, your perceptiveness truly defies belief."
As he spoke, Hermes slowly stepped aside, revealing the dim figure behind him—a shadow-like presence without face or features.
It was a being with no distinguishable appearance—something that, when seen, would be instinctively ignored by all.
It left no impression in the minds of onlookers. No one could form a reaction to such a featureless individual.
It was like the embodiment of the faceless masses that exist in every stage—like a crowd of extras existing only in the background.
The audience would never remember such a presence. It wasn't even a side character—merely part of the stage's construction.
And precisely because of that, its presence was incredibly dangerous.
If not for Shirou's Mind's Eye warning him, he too might have been torn apart in that moment by its unreasonable and terrifying force.
"Ssssshhh… ssssshhh…"
Relying on the power of the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs, Shirou's severed right arm quickly regenerated.
He turned his gaze once more to the shadowy figure beside Hermes, seemingly pondering what kind of concept this being represented.
But mere thought alone was clearly not enough to reach an answer.
Shirou realized he had to find a way to fight this mysterious being if he wanted to uncover its true identity.
Shirou took a deep breath.
Now that he was aware of his opponent's presence, he held back nothing. He launched a direct assault, engaging the shadowy enemy in a fierce exchange of attacks and defenses.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"
Violent combat shook the earth!
The battle was even more intense than Shirou's fight with Ais.
In almost an instant, all the surrounding buildings were flattened to the ground!
After releasing the power of the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs, Shirou's strength should have reached the absolute pinnacle of Genkai—standing at the threshold of mortality, possessing a power no mortal could ever resist.
And yet—
His assault was completely blocked by that faceless existence.
Even though his thinking was affected after unleashing the Beast of Shattered Death Fangs—making it hard to maintain precision or technical finesse—Shirou's combat capabilities had more than doubled.
But despite all of that, not a single one of the beast-like Shirou's attacks was able to break through the faceless one's defense.
Every strike was calmly received and deflected.
"Piercing Lance of Annihilation!"
Realizing that conventional attacks couldn't penetrate the opponent's defense, Shirou didn't hesitate to use the strongest technique currently available to him.
He summoned a crimson magic spear, and by compressing his power to the utmost limit, he unleashed an attack so powerful that even his own body began to collapse from the strain.
This was the same attack that had once left the vengeance-driven Sword Princess Ais feeling utter despair—instantly breaking her will to resist.
That alone proved how terrifying the technique was.
"BOOM!"
The searing spear tore through space itself.
This attack surpassed even the limits of his physical body. As the crimson lance hurtled forward, it shattered the space along its trajectory—releasing a destructive force capable of breaking down time and space itself.
It pierced through everything in its path, flying straight toward the faceless being.
And yet—
Just as it was about to strike the faceless one, an invisible barrier, like a force field, blocked the full-strength attack from Shirou!
"KRAK!!"
After that intense clash, all the energy stored in the magical spear was consumed.
The crimson spear halted right before the faceless figure—and was effortlessly snapped in half.
"!!!"
Hestia was in total disbelief at the sight.
Shirou, on the other hand, wore an expression that said this was exactly what he expected.
During the earlier exchange, Shirou had already sensed that this opponent's strength was no joke. So the true purpose of releasing his strongest attack wasn't to defeat the enemy.
It was to identify the nature of the being he was facing—to understand what kind of existence it was.
And at the very moment his spear was blocked, he felt a specific ripple—a wave of something he recognized.
With a cold voice, Shirou asked:
"A divine power ripple? Is this thing a divine incarnation created by your godly power?"
"So you figured it out after all." Hermes nodded slightly.
"A thousand years ago, the gods created a species in Genkai known as Spirits.
The essence of Spirits lies in the fusion of divine power and the most compatible lower-world races—resulting in a new species that could perfectly house divine energy.
In that sense, they were avatars of the gods."
"…So you used the same technique to create this incarnation of divine power?"
"Heh, precisely." Hermes answered slowly.
"My divine authority is the ability to 'write scripts'—to make the world unfold like a prewritten stage play.
But actors in the play often go off-script, acting beyond their assigned roles and making moves they shouldn't.
To correct those deviations and bring the story back on track, a special force was needed to suppress errors and reestablish order.
Thus, I created this being: a stage-directing entity that erases mistakes and realigns the narrative—an existence I call an Artificial Angel.
Its body is made using the power of the script, crafted from the anonymous masses—the background characters that always exist in every story.
It doesn't interfere directly with the narrative, but it is the foundation of the narrative's existence.
It is destined to be the stepping stone for heroes—the one to be trampled on so others may rise.
That is why it contains the potential to house all things, and is the perfect vessel for divine power.
The Spirits were once the most ideal vessels for divine energy.
That's why, before the gods descended, they were seen as the closest beings to divinity—half-gods, essentially.
But even they had a limit. The impurities in their bodies made them unfit to contain true divine power.
They could only hold fragments.
That's why, once the gods descended, the Spirits disappeared from history.
But this 'Artificial Angel' I created is different.
It surpasses the Spirits.
Its body is empty, hollow, free to fuse with any material.
Because it was never allowed to step on stage as part of the story, it is exempt from the narrative's laws.
Therefore, no matter how much divine power is injected into it, it does not trigger the punishment of the world's rules."
Hermes's crazed explanation made Shirou frown.
At last, he understood: his opponent was a god-powered avatar, a divine incarnation capable of containing massive amounts of divinity.
Even so, Shirou was unmoved.
Even if his opponent was an Artificial Angel,
He had only one objective: to defeat it—and complete what he came here to do.
Hestia, unable to hold back, cried out:
"This is insane!
Even if you inject divine power into a hollow shell, doesn't that still count as breaking the rules?
Would Ouranos really allow you to do this?!"
"You're still too naïve, Hestia." Hermes replied flatly.
"Do you really believe that Ouranos set the 'no divine power in Genkai' rule to limit the gods?
That it was meant to prevent us from doing whatever we wanted?"
"Isn't that the whole point?" Hestia asked, clearly shaken.
"Of course not." Hermes calmly continued.
"Genkai is nothing more than the gods' amusement park. Why would anyone bother limiting their own power in such a place?
The rule that gods cannot use divine power in Genkai was never meant to restrain gods.
The truth is—that rule exists because the laws of Genkai themselves simply do not support divine power."
"W-What do you mean?" Hestia asked, stunned.
"It's very simple.
The reason gods can't use divine power in Genkai isn't due to a ban imposed by other gods.
It's because the laws of Genkai themselves reject it.
But if one can bypass those laws—if a god can find another form to manifest their divine energy—
Then the rule can be ignored.
Actually, I wasn't the first to think of this.
A thousand years ago, the Spirits were born from gods experimenting with ways to use divine power in Genkai.
But the Spirits failed.
They gained self-awareness, disobeyed the gods' will, and the experiment was abandoned.
Even so—the research never stopped.
The gods have continued searching for a way to wield divine power here below."
The shocking revelations from Hermes left Hestia speechless.
She had never imagined that the other gods, unlike her, had been scheming behind the scenes this entire time—conducting secret experiments to circumvent the rules.
"This can't be allowed! It's madness!"
Hermes chuckled, but then asked:
"Madness? Then tell me, Hestia—what do you think gods really are?
What defines a god?
Why are gods and mortals treated differently?
Why are gods born powerful, and mortals born weak?"
Hestia could not respond.
"The most important difference between gods and mortals... is the ability to wield power to its fullest extent." Hermes said quietly.
"Gods are naturally able to use divine power—to invoke the most powerful laws of the universe.
Mortals, no matter how advanced their magic, are still countless dimensions away from touching that level.
And yet in Genkai, gods are bound.
They can only use their 'Authorities'—no divine power.
Doesn't that feel wrong to you?
If gods are forbidden from using power, then on what basis can they even call themselves gods?
If they can't wield the primal force of violence—
How can they stand above others as divine beings?
That's why—
To restore our status as gods, to reclaim our power, to once again rule from the summit—
We must find a way to use divine power in Genkai.
That is the only way for us to become true gods once again."
Hermes's quiet speech conveyed a belief—perhaps his own, or perhaps one shared by a faction of gods.
An ideology full of arrogance, the unchecked pride of divinity.
But at the same time—it revealed the true essence of the gods:
They are no different from mortals—just another group of beings endlessly chasing after their desires.
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