#566Chapter 538 The Vortex of Origin!AI Model: gemini-2.5-flash
Chapter 538: root vortex!
Thump, thump, thump…
Amidst hurried footsteps, the black-haired man rushed into the black mud. He seemed to instantly sink into a quagmire, and various illusions from his past once again assailed him.
But in Emiya Kiritsugu's hollow eyes, there seemed to be a firm goal now.
His body had long been altered by that mysterious woman. At the same time, the black mud that had previously corroded him had, during the transformation, become a part of his physical body.
This granted him a certain degree of immortality, allowing him to revive from the slumber of death, and now also gave him some resistance to the black mud's corruption.
Emiya Kiritsugu let out a low cry, reaching out and directly grabbing a withered body of flesh and blood from the black mud.
He pushed off with his feet, twisted his body, and was about to throw the other party out of the black mud.
Creak!
Emiya Kiritsugu used too much force, and the withered flesh and blood in his hand seemed to tear open, making an odd sound.
This startled him, but the next moment, a golden glow suddenly appeared from the black mud.
Boom!
Emiya Kiritsugu's hand shook, and he subconsciously let go. Immediately after, the black mud in front of him rapidly flowed and contracted.
His vision instantly cleared. Emiya Kiritsugu felt a stinging pain in his brow and a heavy sensation in his heart.
A dried corpse, as black as ink and shriveled like a mummy, stood upright before him.
The man, originally tall and robust, had now shrunk to barely 1.7 meters in height.
His entire body seemed to be forged from black mud, with faint crimson light flowing within, but in the hollow sockets of his eyes, a hint of golden light still lingered.
Emiya Kiritsugu subconsciously focused his gaze. He was extremely close to Tao Pai Pai, even feeling the warmth contained within that golden light.
It was completely different from the sensation emanating from Tao Pai Pai and most people in this world.
Pure, idealized, the radiance of humanity.
Just by touching that light, Emiya Kiritsugu seemed to recall the incredibly pure ideals of his youth.
"Why would a guy like Tao Pai Pai..."
Emiya Kiritsugu subconsciously moved closer, even leaning into the other party's mummified eye sockets, peering through the dark holes to chase that golden radiance.
Puff, puff, puff…
It sounded like black mud churning, or like blocked blood beginning to flow, with countless insect-like bits of flesh reawakening to life.
Puff!
Two full eyeballs suddenly appeared from the eye sockets, their malice undisguised. The pure black pupils seemed to be condensed black mud.
"Tsk, unlucky ally of justice, what do you want to do to me?"
The characteristic mocking tone, and the sticky killing intent clinging to his body, made Emiya Kiritsugu immediately retreat.
This guy, he really isn't dead!
Before Emiya Kiritsugu could speak, Bai Cangshu shifted his attention away from the other party.
This guy no longer posed any threat to him.
[all the world's evil]
[Type: Special Creation, Material, Ingredient]
[Quality: World's Rarity]
[Description: A negative energy accidentally born in the Type-Moon World due to the Third Magic, containing all the malice of the entire world]
[Effect 1: Consumes 1 a-rank special point and 35,000 dimensional points. Can be poured onto any Spirit Body, causing strong malicious erosion to that Spirit Body. Spirit Bodies that resist this erosion can be materialized and gain a physical body. Spirit Bodies that fail to resist will be corrupted and their control gained by the user.]
[Effect 2: Can be used as a material for fusion (Note: Using as a material for fusion will cause unpredictable consequences for the user, and this item will disappear after use)]
[Effect 3: This item can be consumed as a material for special abilities such as Fortune Potions, Wish Water, Wish Spells, etc., but the items or abilities created will be twisted into malice-oriented wishes.]
[Effect 4: This item can be used as a bloodline material for bloodline enhancement. Each use will consume a small amount of this item. The user will suffer erosion and simultaneously gain additional bloodline characteristics.]
Bai Cangshu's lips curved into a clear smile.
This "black mud" could probably be considered a universal material to some extent.
It could be used to "incarnate" Spirit Bodies, and also be refined into bloodlines for enhancement, much like Azure Sky Overlord Blood.
At the same time, it possessed special functions like "Wishing," although the wishes would be twisted towards malice. But for Reincarnators, malice was often not a big problem.
The most crucial thing was that, if he wished, this item could also be used as a red-quality material for fusion.
Bai Cangshu vaguely remembered White Mask mentioning something about "The Ladder of Spirit and Flesh." Just by the name, this thing was probably of the same type as the God's Ladder that Knight Girl spoke of.
This black mud, which had a certain effect similar to the Third Magic: Heaven's Feel, was very likely related to The Ladder of Spirit and Flesh.
Now that all the world's evil and White Mask's Spirit Body were in his hands, he had plenty of time to ponder that thing.
At this very moment, something else was probably more important.
Bai Cangshu looked up at the blood-red moon in the sky, hanging there as if it didn't belong to this world.
All around was complete darkness.
Yet, it should still be daytime at this moment.
But all light had been stolen.
Bai Cangshu's flesh and blood became plump as if inflated. Soon, as the erosion and suppression effects of all the world's evil diminished, his regeneration speed became faster and faster.
Before long, he had almost completely recovered.
Because the black mud was completely absorbed, Ilya and Emiya Shirou also started walking towards this side.
But the next moment, Emiya Kiritsugu immediately shouted.
"Don't come over!"
He sensed an extremely terrifying aura beginning to emerge, and the world seemed to blur before his eyes.
Ilya subconsciously stopped, and grabbed the Emiya Shirou in front of her. Her feelings for Emiya Kiritsugu were complex; she resented him, yet she vaguely held a hope she herself was unwilling to admit.
And this "younger brother" who had just protected her with his sword made her feel inexplicably close.
Therefore, Ilya, who normally didn't care about her own life or death, now actively stopped with Emiya Shirou.
The next moment, Ilya saw her powerful Servant, Assassin Tao Pai Pai, turn and give her a strange smile.
The other party was tall, his mouth completely wide open. Whether one called it brilliant or cruel, that smile was incredibly vivid.
She didn't understand what the other party was trying to express, or perhaps, the other party himself didn't know.
After all, Ilya had seen Tao Pai Pai's inner self; it was even more hollow than her own, a complete void.
The other party was a beast with no origin and no home, seemingly living only to pursue power.
But what value did power have if it had no purpose…
Ilya didn't understand.
But Tao Pai Pai had already raised his hands, and an unprecedentedly strong surge of magical energy absorption erupted with a roar.
Ilya's face turned pale. At this moment, she probably understood that Tao Pai Pai's smile was like a mischievous joke.
"Noble Phantasm Liberation, Heart Vortex!"
Ilya was prostrate on the ground at that moment, her entire magical circuit glowing brightly. The magical energy from the ley lines was rapidly absorbed by her and then by Tao Pai Pai.
She saw that behind Tao Pai Pai, gigantic translucent tentacles, like tails shooting into the sky, suddenly plunged into the blood-red moon in the sky.
They intertwined with the invisible vortex spreading outwards from there.
That was… the power emanating from the root vortex…
Tao Pai Pai wants to enter the Root?
But he's a Heroic Spirit, he should eventually return to the Throne of Heroes outside the world…
Emiya Kiritsugu's mind raced, but he was powerless to explain, only pointing a finger at his brow.
Bai Cangshu looked at Ilya, his eyes seemingly questioning her.
[Do I need to kill this person, Master?]
Bai Cangshu had already sensed the immense tearing force coming from the sky, compared to some remaining side quests in this world and other rewards.
He was more interested in the Root outside the soon-to-disappear space-time anomaly.
Although he knew that Matou Sakura must have undergone some change due to the Completion Plan, and Matou Zouken had most likely been killed or absorbed by her.
Staying would definitely unravel this part of the mystery and yield some rewards. At the same time, the magical knowledge of the Matou family and the Tohsaka family, and even the legendary Gem Sword design blueprint, were not unobtainable.
But… the root vortex, probably even other top Reincarnators wouldn't necessarily have the chance to enter it.
Ilya understood her Servant's meaning, and finally, she shook her head.
The next moment, crimson magical light descended from the blood moon, completely enveloping Tao Pai Pai.
Boom!
The ground shattered. The Heart Vortex and the root vortex intertwined, and the immense tearing force directly sucked Bai Cangshu in.
In an instant, Bai Cangshu felt his body being torn apart and split. His constitution of over 50 points offered no resistance whatsoever.
His consciousness was suddenly struck by a torrent, and he instantly lost it completely.
[You have touched… the root vortex]
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