That protagonist is trash; I could do better!

呲味~

A lightning-like red light erupted from Shinji Matou's right hand, and boundless magical power exploded, creating a powerful hurricane that nearly blew everyone else in the courtyard away.

"What is it this time?" Waver asked with a mournful face. Rider grabbed his Master and swung his longsword to summon Kamui Wheel, fleeing the courtyard.

"Irisviel, hold on to me!"

Saber, with a serious expression, picked up Irisviel and jumped away from Shinji Matou, quickly leaving the area covered by the transmutation circle.

An ominous atmosphere.

Although the two Servants did not know what Matou Shinji had done, they clearly felt that if they did not escape from Matou Shinji's vicinity, they might be forced to leave the scene.

Rumble~

The Divine Wheels sped away, rapidly escaping the range of the transmutation array. Rider looked down from the sky at the state of Einzbern Castle.

The eerie red magic forms a large circle centered on the castle. The circle is divided into five points, each connected by a straight line to form a pentagon. In the middle of each straight line of the pentagon, another point is generated, forming an inner pentagon.

"What is Caster planning now, kid? You're a magician, do you know what's going on? What kind of magical ritual is this?"

“I don’t understand at all. I am a magician, that’s true. There are different factions of magicians. Don’t you Servants also have classes? This is a pentagon, based on a circle. It’s the most basic ritual circle in alchemy, symbolizing the conceptual foundation of alchemy. Caster is not a regular magician, but an alchemist.” Waver replied dejectedly, looking completely bewildered.

On the other side, Saber scooped up Irisviel and leaped out of Einzbern Castle. Irisviel wrapped her arms around Saber's neck, staring at the transmutation circle in the castle, her brows furrowed with doubt: "It's alchemy. Caster's purpose in setting up the temple in the castle must be to activate this alchemy. He exists in a different timeline, so he must know Archer's Noble Phantasm information. Does he want to use this alchemy to completely destroy Archer?"

"Irisviel, do you know what Caster is planning to do?" Saber put Irisviel down after landing on the ground.

"I can't fully understand it. The Einzbern family's artificial human technology is a branch of alchemy. The basic principles of alchemy are interconnected. All I know is that this ritual is probably the key to opening a certain door."

"Door?"

"Yes, there are many different worlds in this world. Saber, you should know about them, such as alternate dimensions, parallel universes, the Root outside the world, the land of fairies, the Throne of Heroes, the Throne of God where the gods reside, and so on. As the mystery fades, the doors to these worlds also close, and there is no way to open them. This ritual is undoubtedly to open one of these doors."

Saber nodded knowingly; the scabbard of the Holy Sword, Avalon, was essentially the key to the land of fairies.

Deep in the forest on the outskirts, another follower was watching the situation at Einzbern Castle closely. It was Lancer, who had thrown the cursed spear. She stood atop a giant tree, gripping the cursed spear tightly, watching the strange events unfolding at Einzbern Castle. She murmured to herself with interest, "Tonight is going to be quite lively. It's worth the trip to witness top warriors from different eras. Archer aside, the power of that Noble Phantasm is exceptional. With ample mana, even my own Gáe Bolg couldn't withstand it. As for what Caster is planning to do, that aura doesn't seem too good."

Even with Lancer's unique skill, [Wisdom of the Demon Realm], she could not discern the true nature of the ritual.

The one who cut off your right arm, KONO! I am Genjiro Matou!

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Gate of Imaginary Numbers

By fusing the two worlds' most advanced alchemy techniques, the door to truth can be opened using this foundation.

A vertical line split the ground into two halves, forming a stone door that suddenly opened.

"what!"

Archer, whose body was fixed in place by space and unable to move, looked up in astonishment. In the night sky, a transmutation circle unfolded with the moon as its center, and then a magnificent stone gate appeared, facing the transmutation circle on the ground, hanging silently, its huge shadow covering most of the forest.

In the castle courtyard, at the center of the transmutation circle, Shinji Matou gritted his teeth and controlled the massive magical energy flowing within. If not for his rich experience and his own origin characteristics, Shinji Matou would have been unable to guide the massive magical energy, causing the ritual to go out of control. At best, the ritual would fail; at worst, his spirit would be damaged, forcing him to withdraw from the Holy Grail War.

Shinji Matou's silver eyes glowed, connected to the transmutation circle, as he attempted to sever his own thoughts and forge the Gate of Truth.

"First Point of Matter: Kether (Supreme Crown)"

"The Second Particle: Wisdom"

"The Third Substance: Understanding (Intelligence)"

"The Fourth Particle: Mercy (Love)"

"The Fifth Element: Severity (Great Power)"

"Sixth point: Beauty (US)"

"The Seventh Element: Victory (Eternity)"

"The Eighth Particle: Spendor (Glory)"

"Ninth Particle: Foundation"

"The Tenth Element: Kingdom"

"Trials of the Sages, Eleventh Element: Da'at (Knowledge)"

"This is the foundation of the world, from which all things are born and which govern all phenomena. All records begin here and end here."

"The Tree of Life!"

Every time Shinji Matou chanted the true name of the Noble Phantasm, the empty stone gate in the sky would be quickly inscribed with incantations and pictures symbolizing the Kabbalah Tree of Life.

The Kabbalah Tree of Life originated in Judaism, with an even earlier account suggesting it came from Egypt. Regardless of its origin or world, it forms the conceptual foundation of alchemists. Of course, its basic concepts have transcended their original scope, transitioning from theology to science, and even to utopian ideas.

When the complete Kabbalah Tree of Life is carved on the gate wall, the Gate of Truth covering the night sky is completed.

Shinji Matou unleashed his power once more, pouring out his magical energy as he roared, "Imaginary Gate! Open!"

crunch~

A long, resounding roar echoed as the enormous stone gate in the night sky opened, revealing a pitch-black void behind it, where nothing could be seen or felt.

It exists and it doesn't exist, like the imaginary number in mathematics, which has no meaning. That's what it is.

The Gate of Truth connects to the origin of the world. Although the origin of this world is not interconnected with the truth of the Fullmetal Alchemist world, the basic application remains the same.

Shinji Matou's Noble Phantasm does not unfold imaginary space, and cannot be described in detail with words. A rough summary is that it is a universal formula called the Philosopher's Stone. It combines the alchemical knowledge of two worlds, touches the vortex of the root, turns the impossible into the possible, and realizes all possibilities. This is the solution of the universal formula.

Opening the gate to imaginary numbers is one solution, but it requires a large amount of magic power.

The use of imaginary space is knowledge that Shinji Matou discovered from Sakura Matou, whose own magical characteristic is imaginary numbers.

If you can observe, you can interfere; if you can interfere, you can exploit.

Alchemists are not the strongest, but they create the strongest.

Everything that alchemy can create or utilize is an alchemist's weapon.

The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is like this, and so is the alchemy school in this world.

Shinji Matou gasped for breath, staring at the golden Servant in the sky and sneering: "Archer, your treasury is the ultimate in infinite accumulation, the original text of human wisdom, but humanity has its limits. Compared to the infinite imaginary number, your treasury is insignificant."

"Let me see if the world's oldest hero-king can break free from the prison holding the creator goddess (Tiamat)!"

A dark curtain descended from the door, like black paint covering everything in black, and meaningless concepts eliminated the fixed space.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

"You dare to banish me to the far side of the world! You damned magician!"

Archer, having regained some of his mobility, roared to the sky. The night sky resembled a lake shrouded in torrential rain, with countless golden ripples spreading out. His Noble Phantasms fell like a downpour, but in mid-air, they seemed to lose their power and fall strangely. The weapons were shrouded in a layer of black before rapidly disintegrating into nothingness.

Imagine the world as a pie, with humans living on the outer side and imaginary space on the inner side. There is no concept of time and space inside, and no matter or power exists there either.

The imaginary space severs the connection between the Servant and the Holy Grail; any matter that enters the imaginary space will be quickly devoured.

All things and phenomena are ultimately nothingness.

The moment the Gate of Truth opened, Archer was already swallowed by the Imaginary Space. Now he is caught between the world and the Imaginary Space, just one step away from falling completely in.

"Tsk~" Archer clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

Seeing that the Gate of Babylon was ineffective, Archer drew Ea from the Gate of Babylon with his left hand, the blade spinning rapidly, a red hurricane tearing through space and sweeping towards the earth.

呲味~

The wind pressure generated by the Ea sword seemed to hit an invisible wall, and was quickly swallowed up by the distorted space. Archer, trapped in the imaginary space, was just a mirage and could not affect reality.

The red wind pressure generated by the Ea sword tore apart the space that was holding Archer's body in place. Archer fully regained his mobility, but was unable to escape from the imaginary space.

Archer looked up as the dark sky threatened to engulf everything. He then looked down coldly at Shinji Matou in the castle courtyard: "Magician, only you, you bastard, are unforgivable!"

Although Shinji Matou can see Archer, he cannot hear him. Archer, who is trapped in the cracks of the world, is now just a phantom that remains in the world.

Archer plunged the sword of Ea into the golden ripples, twisted it gently as if activating some kind of mechanism, then pulled it out again and raised it high. The fierce wind pressure actually forced back the imaginary darkness.

"He wouldn't be thinking of tearing apart imaginary space with the Sword of Ea, would he?!"

In the courtyard of the castle ruins, Matou Shinji solemnly muttered to himself upon seeing this scene. It was not impossible that it was Ea. In fact, no one knew how powerful Ea was at its maximum output. Matou Shinji vaguely remembered that Ea had such a setting: if Ea received support from the Noble Phantasm inside the Gate of Babylon, its power could even tear through dimensions.

Shinji Matou remained unconvinced: "But so what? The connection with the Master has been severed, and there's no Holy Grail to maintain the Spirit Origin. How much magical power is left to unleash Ea?"

The Kabbalah Tree of Life is one of the settings in Fullmetal Alchemist.

Of course, I haven't explored Fullmetal Alchemist in depth, and my understanding is only superficial, let alone mysticism.

Therefore, it's fine to just create an empty concept.

Genjiro Matou: I didn't use any cheat codes!

It wouldn't be considered giving the protagonist a cheat code. After all, the protagonist's Noble Phantasm had been brewing for a long time, requiring Command Seals as a price and the support of his master to barely pull Gilgamesh into the imaginary space.

Chapter Sixty-Five: Three Stances

The pitch-black deep space, the void of darkness swallows everything.

Archer stood in the void, his right arm severed, his intact left hand gripping the sword Ea. His crimson eyes coldly surveyed the Einzbern castle, and he declared in a chilling voice: "Bastard, you have won. Now, be satisfied and go to your grave with me."

Caught in the void, with his contract with his Master severed, Archer could feel the magic power that constituted his spirit being slowly devoured. The small amount of magic power remaining in his body was insufficient to support the release of the true name of Ea once again.

Even if the contract with the Master is severed and the magical power is insufficient, there is still a way to release the true name of the Noble Phantasm.

A Servant is composed of a large amount of magical energy. By simply burning their Spirit Origin, they can unleash a massive amount of magical energy in a very short time, comparable to the support provided by a Master's Command Spell.

In short, it's a self-destruct attack.

The sword Ea detached from Archer's left hand and floated in front of him. The three sections of the sword spun rapidly, releasing red wind pressure, creating a hurricane centered on Archer, and the surrounding space shattered like a mirror.

The pitch-black sky was so dark that not even half a foot of rain could fall.

A sudden change occurred; the hurricane broke apart, forming three opposing forces rotating in opposite directions, resembling a vast galaxy, disrupting spacetime and cutting through space itself.

The three rotating positions correspond to the three sections of the sword, and each position symbolizes a different world concept: the sky, the earth, and the underworld. This is the entirety of the world described in the creation epic of Babylonian mythology.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Archer's hands and feet were filled with golden particles, his torso became transparent, and he laughed wildly as he raised the sword Ea, causing three vortexes of force, resembling galaxies, to overturn.

In that instant, heaven and earth reversed, and the boundaries of the world became blurred.

"The space has changed, that's amazing, no wonder it's Mushroom's favorite son."

In the courtyard, Shinji Matou maintained the operation of the transmutation circle, his face turning grim. As he released Archer, Shinji Matou felt the surrounding space becoming chaotic, making it impossible for him to use spatial magic.