Walking in the Question and Answer System of Heroic Spirits

Kenneth: "He can actually interfere with the reaction of reason and law. That boy seems unreliable, but his talent is exceptionally strong."

[Logical response: "...As expected, I can't understand it. Why... can't I ignore you? I'm enough as I am, so why can't I stop chasing after you?"]

[Grey: "I'm afraid it's because the Skeleton King is still among you."]

She could sense that within the rational reaction there was an entity identical to herself.

[Logical response: "Why... are you getting in my way?"]

[Grey: "...I'm sorry, I apologize. You caused the malfunction because of me, and then I tried to sabotage you. I'm sorry."]

"However, even so, I will not back down here!"

[Li Fa reacted by looking at the scythe and saying, "What is this? The Holy Lance? But its constituent elements don't seem to be the Holy Lance? What exactly is this?"]

[Grey, straining her magic circuits to their limit and enduring excruciating pain that felt like her nerves were being torn apart, cried out, "To you, this is the Holy Lance. But to me, it's different."]

"To me, this is Yad, he is my friend!"

[Logical response: "..."]

Kenneth: "That's ridiculous! You'll burn the magic circuitry!"

Weber: "But now is the time to fight tooth and nail, and we can't afford to slack off in the slightest."

Lion Jie Li: "But the fact that she chose to apologize to Li Fa is quite in line with her personality."

[Logical response: "...Why...did I come here? Incomprehensible...Irrational...Unable to understand...Incomplete judgment...Theory contradictory...Calculation invalid..."]

As she murmured to herself, the force began to slow down.

What is death?

The clash of powers completely collapsed, and the unleashed scythe slashed straight into the woman's body.

As the attack succeeded, Gray immediately freed one hand to catch the golden blade thrown by the Second Prince, and plunged it into the flesh that was reacting to the attack.

The other person neither struggled nor coughed up blood; instead, they ceased all movement, like a puppet with its strings cut.

[Did the Golden Blade work its magic, successfully separating the Skeleton King's spirit from the laws of reason?]

Rin Tohsaka: "Did it work?"

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "No, I feel something's not right."

[Grey: "In this way..."]

Just as she was about to catch him, she froze.

"I understand."

[The other person, who had almost fallen, ignored Newton's sudden stop and turned to stare at Grey.]

Although the face was still blurry, Grey could feel that the other person's eyes were staring at her, and a satisfied smile was playing on their lips.

"Ah, is that so? So that's why I'm attached. Is this what death is? Is this what the grave is? Yes, that's how it is. So I'm right to be attached to you."

"You are my death!"

In an instant, the reaction of reason and law changed drastically; the woman's body collapsed and dissipated, turning into red sand.

[The transformation didn't just affect the girl. Belsac, Ilumia, and the crystal warriors all instantly turned into red sand.]

[The vast expanse of red sand nearly engulfed the entire cemetery; a crimson world spread out endlessly.]

Ilya: "What is this red sand?"

Kenneth: "This is! The Philosopher's Stone!"

Rin Tohsaka: "The Philosopher's Stone! The Philosopher's Stone from Western legend! But isn't this just a pile of sand?"

Kenneth: "Idiot! It turned into sand because of the manipulation of the law of reason! Besides, the Philosopher's Stone is just a rumor; the real Philosopher's Stone is not such a vulgar thing!"

[Second Generation: "This! Could it be the reddening and corruption of the Philosopher's Stone of the Atlas Academy?! Damn it! Is this the kind of weapon that triggers the Law of Reason?!"]

[Kai: "Hey, what's going on here?"]

[Second Generation: "The Philosopher's Stone was originally one of the research achievements of the Atlas Institute. It is the ultimate memory medium capable of recording almost infinite information—the Book of the Supreme!"]

"The Law of Reason itself is constituted by a specific state of the Philosopher's Stone. As long as it continues to record, it can likely multiply indefinitely! Ah, that's why the villagers disappeared! They were affected by the Law of Reason's reaction, which was the first time the village actively tried to understand death!"

"Is this what they mean by 'they should save humanity but are capable of destroying the world'?"

"For the first time, the rational response became aware of its own function. This virtual computational world she built herself will soon be completely buried. If we remain in contact with it for too long, even we might be broken down into information databases. And then, next..."

Although it wasn't said aloud, everyone understood the implication.

Next, will reality come into play?

[What Tsbia had been trying to stop was probably this very thing. He likely stayed in that village to prevent everything in the world from turning into red sand. Of course, his motivation was probably not based on human conscience or a simple, easily understood sense of justice. Rather, it was because he decided to do it, and therefore did it.]

Shiki-kai Kairi: "An ultimate medium that can record infinitely! Isn't that equivalent to a supercomputer?!"

Kiritsugu Emiya: "So this is why the Law of Reason can destroy the world. If no one stops her, she can break the entire Earth down into information for absorption."

Tokiomi Tohsaka: "As expected of one of the Seven Weapons capable of destroying the world, how can we stop it?"

A colossal shadow shot into the sky from where the reaction to the law had vanished, spreading its enormous wings and looking down disdainfully at the Second Prince and his companions.

The Second King gazed at the figure and murmured, "The Bird of Hermes, a combination of Hermes from Greek mythology, Thoth from Egyptian mythology, and the alchemist Mercury, is a symbol of alchemy. He is sometimes a man, sometimes a bird bearing that name, appearing in various forms in many books. Ah, this is quite fitting for his appearance, for Hermes in Greek mythology is also a guide leading souls to the underworld."

[A sacred bird that destroys humanity in order to save it—it's quite fitting that it embodies the principles of reason and law.]

The red sacred bird "Hermes" looked at Gray and said, "You are my death. Therefore, I have come to kill you."

Just like when they first met the Skeleton King, the other party didn't use voice, but rather directly instilled information into the brain.

"To avoid death, this is the right thing to do. I define myself as the right one."

The sacred bird spread its enormous wings, and with a roar, massive crimson sand feathers shot down.

[It was a bombing; the immense magical power released from each feather was comparable to a bomb, and the continuous explosions instantly engulfed Gray and the others.]

Although the enemy's target was Gray, the Second Prince and the others were also affected by the aftershocks of the explosion.

Weber: "Good heavens! A bomber!"

Rin Tohsaka: "Won't this blow up all of the Second Prince and the others?"

Kenneth: "It turned into Hermes. But the Gold-Piercing Blade didn't work. Was that kid's prediction wrong?"

The earth instantly became pitted and uneven, and the protruding stone pillars were also severely damaged.

Unable to activate continuously, the sacred bird traced an arc in the sky, as if taking pity on us, prostrate on the ground.

Grey knelt on the ground, unable to utter a sound.

The impact had damaged her internal organs, and even though she tried to strengthen herself to get up, she was unable to refine the magic she needed.

【"teacher..."】

Grey looked around. Queen Elizabeth II was alright; she had been protected by Sphinx in the critical moment.

However, although they were only affected by the aftershocks, like themselves, they were unable to get up immediately after the bombing.

[Unexpectedly, the opponent only needed one strike to render them unable to stand.]

The sacred bird soared through the air, gathering magical power once more.

If there were another bombing like the one before, they wouldn't survive.

Rin Tohsaka: "They weren't killed by the explosion? That's ridiculous."

Weber: "Hey, whose side are you on?"

Shiki Jie Li: "But they've all lost their fighting ability now, so what should we do next?"

"Grey, get up."

Just then, a hand gripped the hood tightly, bringing Gray back to her senses as she was about to lose consciousness.

It was Sir Kay.

[At this point, Kai was in a terrible state. His breastplate was pierced, and his leg armor and other parts were almost completely shattered. If an ordinary person suffered such severe injuries, they would probably have difficulty even breathing.]

[Grey: "Sir Kay..."]

[Kay: "That guy said, 'You're its death.' That way, things won't be some ridiculous fairy tale about human salvation or extinction anymore. It'll be a pure 'it's either you or me' survival competition between you!"]

Chapter 264 The Unforgettable Illusory City

[Grey: "I..."]

Grey realizes that she still hasn't let go of the scythe.

[Kay: "Yeah, lift that thing up."]

[Grey: "But..."]

No, not out of fear, but simply because it's too late.

Hermes has already flown in, his wings beginning to release a new cascade of sand feathers.

Rin Tohsaka: "Are we doomed...?"

Weber: "Don't give up easily."

Sand feathers fell, but this time the bombardment missed its target by a significant margin.